Henrys
by gbindahouse
Summary: A fan-made rewrite of the Heathers musical where the story has a bit of extra prose to it...also something about dudes being ladies and vice versa!
1. The Most Beautiful Worst Day

The fall term opens in Sherwood, Ohio to the bustling masses of high-school students funneling into Westerburg High. While jocks and cheer squads unite together under the enthusiastic fervor of the Westerburg Rottweilers athletic superiority, the majority of students are more distant. Tiny paper boats flowing on waving river of passive aggressive jabs at each other's expense.

One paper vessel of a boy with similarly pale complexion steps off the school bus and pulls out a notebook from inside his denim jacket with marks of once proud patches he would sport just a few years ago. One patch on his jacket that remains is a banner on his right arm that reads "Valiant", his first patch, fitting his first name. This young man, Valiant Sawyer, then draws out a pen from his acid washed jeans and starts to jot his diary's first entry of the school year.

"September 1st, 1989" he writes, murmuring it to himself. Valiant pauses, did he say that out loud? Oh god, everyone will think he's a super-freak! Like one of those kids who climbs up a tower to take sniper shots at people. But he doesn't own a gun, his parents don't even own a gun. How would he get one? Wait, why is that the only problem with this situation? Are they right to think hes-

He exhales, forcing all that paranoia out his head on shuttle of carbon dioxide into the open air. Valiant returns to writing in this notebook, lips tightly shut and rather conservative shoes pacing into the school building.

"Dear diary,

I think I'm a good person. You know I think there's good in everyone. But here we are, first day of Senior year!"

Valiant tilts his head up with a smirk at the insincerity of his entry's enthusiastic exclamation, looking over at all the students. His attention drawn to a group he recognized to be in the same year group as him. A laughing girl beside a tall male with his left arm wrapped around the girl's waist and his right hand on a less imposing boy opening up his locker as he turns to the pair. The diary scribe watches them, scribbling down into his diary:

"I look around all these kids I've known all my life and I wonder,"

In an instant, the bigger male throws the locker boy into opened maw of his locker and slams it shut, joining his partner in laughter with an extra kick to the locker door for good measure. The diary jotting young man looks away.

"What happened?" He asks himself before walking onward into Westerburg High, listening to the bellows of insults as students spit at each other.

[Backers, spoken] Freak! Slut! Burnout! Bug-eyes! Poser! Lard Ass!

[Valiant, sung] _We were so tiny,_

 _Happy and shiny,_

 _Playing tag and getting chased._

[Backers] Freak! Slut! Loser! Short Bus!

[Valiant] _Singing and clapping,_

 _Laughing and napping,_

 _Baking cookies,_

 _Eating paste._

[Backers] Bull Dyke! Stuck-up! Hunchback!

[Valiant] _Then we got bigger,_

 _That was the trigger,_

 _Like the Huns invading Rome!_

A girl shoves practically through Valiant, violently knocking himself and his thoughts aside. Just as he collects himself, he looks over to the continuing girl and calls out, "umm, sorry." With no acknowledgement or retort from her, Valiant straightens himself and walks onward to his locker.

 _Welcome to my school,_

 _This ain't no high school,_

 _This is the Thunderdome._

A quick unloading of his school bag later, Valiant marches on to his first class. Between the teenage angst he sees statements of inspiration from long past and imagines his past self's eyes twinkle with naive awe for the world around him.

 _Hold your breath and count the days,_

 _We're graduating soon._

[Backers] White trash!

[Valiant] _College will be paradise,_

 _If I'm not dead by June!_

First class commences with Valiant sitting at his desk, part daydreaming and another part looking over the scrawls of his earlier years within his notebook diary.

 _But I know, I know,_

 _Life can be beautiful,_

 _I pray, I pray,_

 _For a better way._

With the first class over, Valiant looks upwards and strides with the closest thing to his name sake of valor he could ever muster in Westerburg's hallowed halls.

 _If we changed back then,_

 _We can change again!_

 _We can be beautiful…_

A nerdier girl gets shoved down close to Valiant, his eye catching her as she falls to the ground.

 _Just not today._

"Hey, are you ok?" Valiant crouched down to inquire, trying to help her up.

The girl slaps away Valiant's arms and barks at him, "get away, freak!".

And there it was, first one of the year. First utterance of "freak" towards him. With his optimism retreated, Valiant dismissed her with a few words.

"Oh umm, ok."

Throughout classes, Valiant continues to wax nostalgia and his typical mental hyper-gymnastics as he reads through his notebook's older entries and the progressively more angsty and defeatist newer ones.

[Backers] Freak! Slut! Cripple!

Homo!

Homo!

Homo!

[Valiant] _Things will get better,_

 _Soon as my letter,_

 _Comes from Harvard, Duke, or Brown._

 _Wake from this coma,_

 _Take my diploma,_

 _Then I can blow this town!_

With break commencing, Valiant queues up with his tray in hand, collecting his food and drink with such robotic autonomy, the relief from lessons seemed to not enter his mind. He continues his thoughts from during the lessons.

 _I dream of Ivy-covered walls,_

 _and smokey French cafes._

 _Fight the urge to strike a match,_

 _and set this dump ablaze._

Just as he reaches for his last item, a red apple, the tray in his left hand flies up into his face. Bread and liquid either against his head or tarnishing his denim cloaked back before collapsing into a heap on the ground.

"Oops", a sassy little white brunette sporting the schools' sports colors quips.

Valiant grips the apple and breathes deeply to himself. He should have known this would happen. How could he forget one of his fellow seniors.

Rae Sweeney, 3rd year as top of the pyramid.

"And 8th as lunch tray smacker and a huge bitch!" Valiant remarks to himself as he tries to clean up somewhat with his apple now safely pocketed. Sadly, Valiant's insult catches the ear of the rather well-built cheer squad member.

Rae glares down at the crouched Valiant and spits "What did you say to me, horn dog?" as Valiant's head rises to stand back up.

"Gah! N-nothing!" Valiant recoiled, trying to keep all the spoiled goods on the tray before disposing them into the bin.

[With backers] _But I know, I know_

 _Life can be beautiful._

[Valiant alone] _I pray, I pray,_

 _For a better way,_

 _We were kind before,_

 _We can be kind once more,_

 _We can be beautiful (beautiful)._

A poke into Valiant's back causes him to jump. The foreign sensation of the poke with the dampened denim and dried crusts under his collar certainly helped add to the shock. Valiant spun around to see the offender, a rotund and shorter boy of Asian descent with large lenses in his glasses. A chubby smile rests below his glasses and infects Valiant with a smile of his own.

"Hey Martin", Valiant utters.

"Hey" he replies.

Martin Dunnstock. Valiant's best friend since, diapers now that Valiant thought about it. Despite the two fitting together as well as mismatched socks, they were good friends, this tall posing freak who mutters to himself and the squat fat ass nerd with the wisdom of a freshman.

"Are we on for movie night?" Martian asks as the two boys walk over to their typical table of D+ socializers.

"Yeah, you're on jiffy pop detail". Valiant smiles, pointing to Martian before pulling out his apple and giving it a wipe to make sure nothing was on it.

"I rented the Princess Bride" Martin stated they closed in on their seats.

"Oh ho ho! Again? Wait, surely you got it memorized by now." Valiant chuckled before getting a quick bite into his apple.

"What can I say, I'm a sucker for happy endings" Martin confesses, engrossed with chatting to his friend.

Too engrossed.

"MARTIN DUMPTRUCK! WIDE LOAD!"

Suddenly, Rae with a loud dark skinned compatriot rushes across the two boys and slams Martin's tray into the ground before bellowing a loud "HONK!" right into his shocked face before trying to salvage his tray and its contents. Oh yes, the OTHER queen of smacking lunch trays out of people's hands.

Kate Kelly, lead cheerleader and the smartest girl in the squad. Valiant could think of more back-handed compliments she should be commended for, though a part of him preferred to stick with "the tallest dwarf".

Swallowing his mouthful of apple and quickly wiping his mouth with his sleeve, Valiant shouted, "Hey! Pick that up! Right now!" pointing at Martin's food with his apple holding hand, the other trying to hold Martin back. Sure, Martin could clean up like Valiant did, but at this point, it was the principle of the matter.

"I'm sorry, are you actually talking to me?" Kate remarked, strutting back at Valiant with a sneer. She cut a short figure in comparison to Valiant but her glare more than compensated for the intimidation factor.

"Yes I am." Valiant answered, "I want to know want gives you the right to pick on my friend." Valiant leans down over Kate but she keeps her glare. There was something almost heart-racing for Valiant to actually feel in authority. A submissive beanpole of a teen now looking like he was worth something. The stare down seemed to excrete intensity with the rivaling forces, Martin and even a small crowd of students watching with interest. "You are a high school has been waiting to happen" Valiant continued, "A future gas station attendant".

And yet, all this meant nothing. The towering height, the grim specter of an inevitable reality, a determined stare. It all meant nothing before Kate's single response.

"You have a zit, right there." She pointed, above Valiant's left eye and near the top-most part of his nose. Valiant out of teenage image induced reflex tried to cover it but too late, the crowd was in an uproar, tension dead, the girls leave, Martin's tray still on the floor. Valiant lost. He'd probably be a joke again because of this, God it was worse than the Roger Rabbit jokes from last year!

Valiant went to sit alone at the desk and draw out his notebook for an impulsive diary entry.

 _Dear Diary,_

 _Why? (Why do they hate me?)_

 _(Why don't I fight back?)_

 _(Why do I act like such a freak?)_

 _Why? (Why won't she date me?)_

 _(Why did I hit her?)_

 _(Why do I cry myself to sleep?)_

 _Why? (Somebody help me,)_

 _(Somebody fix me,)_

 _(Somebody save me.)_

Valiant drops his head hard onto the lunch table and with entwined hands, presses down from the back of his head.

 _(Send me a sign God,)_

 _(Give me some help here,)_

 _(Something to live for!)_

As if brought to a theatrical silence, the cafeteria halts before the presence of 3 figures. Three towering tenements of Westerburg high. Gods in mortal man's flesh? No, flesh would be an insult to them. For they were more marble statues of man's greatest figures made manifest. No one would dare look away from the three jacket clad seniors entering the cafe. The awestruck silence brings Valiant's head up to look around before catching sight of the glistening gods in question.

 _(Ahh,_

 _Henry,_

 _Henry,_

 _and Henry)_

The Henrys, just floating above it all. When Valiant is at his lowest point, who better to metaphorically press his face further down into social mud?

 _(I love,_

 _Henry,_

 _Henry,_

 _and Henry)_

On the right end of this pack of Adonises was Henry McNamara. The school's star quarterback dressed in bright yellow with a blonde mullet. Valiant heard his mother was loaded from her business of selling engagement rings. In terms of McNamara himself, everyone seems to speak positively of him specifically. Probably because the guy is always smiling, yeah, had to be that.

 _(I want,_

 _Henry,_

 _Henry,_

 _and Henry)_

Left side, Henry Duke. The well-groomed if bland green guy is the dark pompadour wearing head of the yearbook committee. Perhaps it was the general hush-hush of any rumors on him, his recent growth in body mass and ultimately all the implications there, or just Henry's rather unimposing presence outwith the Henrys but whatever the case, Valiant personally liked him the least. Which is actually a compliment in comparison to…

 _(I need,_

 _Henry,_

 _Henry,_

 _and Henry)_

Henry Chandler. The man that ties this trio together like a large red band that could tie back his long straight red hair. The Almighty among the already almighty clique. This tanned monarch of the student populous was a proud member of Westerburg high despite not being a lead of any sports teams. He was the cream of the crop, and boy did he know it.

"He is such a mythic prick." Valiant murmured.

As the spectacle of watching the Henrys collect food and sit at their exclusive table waned away, Valiant turned back to his apple, his head clouded with thoughts of the Henrys.

They were solid Teflon he chewed over with chunks of bitten off apple in his mouth. Never bothered, never harassed. Despite Valiant's distaste for the whole clique, he would undoubtedly give anything to be one of them. In some regards, Valiant was not alone:

[Girl] _I'd like to be their girlfriend,_

 _(That would be beautiful),_

[Boy] _If I sat at their table,_ _chicks_ _would notice me,_

 _(So beautiful),_

[Martin] _I'd like them to be nicer,_

 _(That would be beautiful),_

[Girl 2] _I'd like to kidnap a Henry and photograph him naked in an abandoned warehouse and leave him tied up for the rats._

Was that Betty? Valiant should have known she'd be into the freaky stuff. Or maybe he just thought of that as an excuse for his ego after she rejected him. He was doing better than Martin in any case, poor guy hasn't even asked a girl out yet...maybe for the best given who he was particularly pining for.

By the time the bell kneels for class' re-convention, Valiant found himself too engrossed with writing some cursive on the back pages of his diary when he originally went in for a quick dry of his denim if possible.

Trapped in a cubicle, Valiant kept trying to mimic the cursive of one of the yearbook teacher's lettering. In part out of interest, graphology seemed interesting to Valiant ever since he read its importance in a detective thriller as a child. In another part, well forging a hall pass might help him get some more fresh air after such a shitty day.

Bluarrgh!

Valiant pricked his ears up to the sudden sound of puking, followed by a too familiar voice.

"Ugh, grow up Henry! Muscle Hypertrophy is **SO** '87!" the voice of Henry Chandler projected from the North west point of where Valiant was sitting.

"Henry, I need a mint!" the stall voice piped up, Henry Duke. If both of them were here, then it only made sense that-

"I think what you need is a doctor Henry." a voice at the mid-point of the other two remarked, yup, Henry McNamara. All three Henrys alone. Except with Valiant, stuck hiding in the nearby stall.

"Yeah, maybe you're right Henry" Henry Duke responded, well shit Valiant figured, if I go out now, they'll probably think I am going to spread rumors about Henry Duke puking in a toilet. Just his luck, he was going to become the Henrys' greatest enemy due to coincidental timing.

Valiant held his breath and pulled up his legs. If there is a God, throw me a bone!

"Ah, Henry and Henry" the voice of Mr Fleming arose from the bathroom entrance, his timing punctuated but Henry Duke's second throw up, "and Henry" Mr Fleming added.

How is this a bone, Valiant thought. Now he was going to get detention and trouble from the Henry's. This day is the worst!

"Perhaps you three didn't hear the bell from all the vomiting? You are late for class" Mr Fleming stated.

Wait a moment, the hall pass. If I hand this fake page now, I'm free, Valiant discovered, carefully tearing his notebook page out, with thankfully no sign of tear.

"Henry wasn't feeling well, we're helping him." Henry Chandler explained, Valiant realizing the Henrys' plight too.

Wait, if I get them out too...they'll owe me he reasoned. Maybe I could dodge their wrath. No, better. I could...but dare I?

"Not without a hall pass you're not." Mr Fleming rather chirpily retorted to Chandler's failed persuasion attempt. "A week's detention."

"Actually, Mr Fleming?"

With a final stroke of pen, Valiant opened his stall door and raised the forged note towards the floral print shirt wearing teacher. Fleming grabs the note and inspects it.

"All four of us are out on a hall pass." Valiant stated, Mr Fleming surveys the four students, no doubt drawing suspicion that Valiant would be out alongside the Henrys. "Yearbook committee", Valiant quickly added.

"Oh" Fleming replied, "Well, I see you are all listed. Hurry up and get where you are going".

Fleming left after handing the note back to Valiant. Before the denim clad youth could sigh with any semblance of relief however, Henry Chandler swiped the note and inspects it himself, McNamara and Duke joining in on the investigation over the Almighty one's shoulders.

"This is an excellent forgery." Chandler rather uncharacteristically compliments before snapping, "Who are you?"

"U-Um, Sawyer. Valiant Sawyer. I...I crave a boon." Valiant responded, partially relieved the Henrys did not poke fun at his rather uncommon name.

Instead, Chandler promptly asked "What boon?"

Valiant felt on the verge of sweat drops from the nerves. A sharp swallow later he requests though in a rush of nerves, "Lemme sit at your table, once, no talking necessary. If everyone believed that you guys tolerated me, they'll leave me alone."

A moment of awkward silence. Chandler being quiet. Duke with eyes wide from shock. McNamara not smiling in some way? Valiant panicked. He offended them, oh shit. So much for that plan then, goodbye ambitions, hello Senior year hell!

Chandler then breaks into a laugh, a laugh at the absurdity of this weirdo's request. Duke joins in with his own rather downplayed snicker and McNamara returns to a smile with some laughter of his own.

"Before you answer," Valiant desperately added during a lull point of the Henrys' laughing, "I also do report cards, permission slips and absence notes."

"What about prescriptions?" Henry Duke asks before Henry Chandler slams his verbal gavel.

"Shut up Henry"

"Sorry Henry"

Henry Chandler then starts to close in on Valiant and paces around him. Pulling faces of disgust and yet also impress as he walks round Valiant.

"For a little greasy nobody" he remarks, grabbing Valiant's chin and moving Valiant's head around, "You have excellent bone structure" he compliments once again before McNamara pulls Valiant towards the least messy mirror in the bathroom.

"And a symmetrical face." Henry McNamara adds as the Henrys crowd around the mirror to examine. "If I pulled out a meat cleaver and chopped down the center of your skull" he explained, gesturing with an open hand narrow side against Valiant's nose. "I would have matching halves, that is very important" he concluded, the Henrys nodding in agreement to Henry McNamara's evaluation with Valiant still staring in a state of confused worry.

"Of course, you could stand to gain some more muscle" Henry Duke stated. That much didn't really surprise Valiant, compared to these three, he looked like flag pole.

Chandler reclaimed Valiant from McNamara with some further evaluation and plans of action. Actions that would change Valiant in ways he could have never imagined.

[Henry Chandler] _And you know, you know, you know,_

 _This could be beautiful._

 _Letterman,_

 _maybe some posture,_

 _and we're on our way._

 _Get this dude some gear,_

 _and Henry, his breath needs clear,_

 _Let's make him beautiful!_

 _(Let's make him beautiful!)_

 _(Let's make him beautiful!)_

 _Make this beautiful!_

"Ok?" Chandler asks.

"Ok!" Valiant squeaked back.

And in a sweeping blur, the Henrys commenced their plans of action. McNamara was the first to attack with, mouthwash. The liquid was forced into Valiant's mouth and just as quickly, Henry McNamara started jostling Valiant's heads and cheeks, rinsing the solution all around his mouth before a quick chop at the back of Valiant's head forced the fashion victim to spit the mouthwash out into the sink. Out of his pocket, the quarterback popped a strong mint into Valiant's mouth.

"Don't swallow." he ordered before then gesturing Henry Duke to take over with a rather padded jacket.

"Denim was so mid-80s, jeans only from now on...and only outside school hours. We're jewels of Westerburg high and thus must present as such." Henry Duke remarked, Stripping Valiant of his denim jacket, revealing a band shirt underneath. Henry sighed, "Plain tees or dress shirts from now on. Flip that for now."

Turning Valiant's shirt with some deodorant sprays added in for good measure, Henry Duke presented a blue jacket with the spitting image of the Henrys' own.

"Not yet Henry" Henry Chandler interrupted, "Let's get him pants first and-" he approached to jostle Valiant's short mess of hair "maintenance advice".

The makeup session lasted into the end of the school day with hair styling and cleaning advice (apparently, Valiant's remark of washing hair everyday gained looks of revulsion from the Henrys). Students began to funnel out of class with their typical spirit

[Girl] _Out of my way geek!_

[Nerdy girl] _I don't want trouble!_

[Goth girl] _You're gonna die at 3pm!_

[Pair of boys] _Don't you dare touch me!_

 _Get away weirdo!_

[Nerdy girl] _What did I ever do to them?_

[Backers] _Who could survive this?_

 _I can't escape this,_

 _I think I'm dying._

[Guy] _Whose that with Henry?_

Once again, the students halted and glanced over to the striding band of seniors, with their new 4th member to flaunt off to the masses trailing behind them.

Murmurs of a "4th one" catches Martin's ears and, with curiosity gnawing into him, tries to pass through the crowd to see. The crowd in turn, starts to cluster up as they present a split down the middle of the hall for the Henrys.

[Backers] _Whoa._

 _Henry,_

 _Henry,_

 _Henry,_

 _and someone._

 _Henry,_

 _Henry,_

 _Henry,_

 _and a hunk!_

 _Henry,_

 _Henry,_

 _Henry,_

[Henry Chandler & Martin, spoken] Valiant?

[Backers, sung] _Valiant,_

 _Valiant,_

 _Valiant!_

To the call of his name, Valiant steps out and folds away his notebook. Standing to a crowd of awestruck teenagers was a dashing figure. Hair gelled back and a glistening smile, his fine physique defined by the padded blue Letterman jacket and the school plaid pants and his shoes now pearly white trainers. Upright, with confidence far more befitting his namesake and new station, Valiant presents his person and follows towards the Henrys.

[Valiant] _And you know, you know, you know,_

 _Life can be beautiful (life can be beautiful),_

 _You hope, you dream, you pray,_

 _And you get your way!_

The grinning teenager starts waving to the enamored audience of teenagers as the Henrys lead him towards the school's front doors. Valiant picks up his pace though not at the expense of more flaunting to the onlookers.

 _Ask me how it feels, (beautiful!)_

 _Looking like Hell on wheels!_

From one of the school doors' windows, Valiant catches sight of the studly senior reflecting back at him and the mesmerized gawking masses behind him. Valiant begins to fawn over the reflection as if it was the first time.

 _My God, it's beautiful, (beautiful!)_

 _This might be beautiful, (beautiful!)_

 _And when you're beautiful,_

 _It's a beautiful fricking day!_

Pulling away from the reflection, Valiant pushes the doors open ahead of the Henrys and steps out to the opened horizon with arms out wide. The students also start to pour out as they cheer for this new Henry.

 _(Henry,_

 _Henry,_

 _Henry,_

 _Valiant.)_

 _(Henry,_

 _Henry,_

 _Henry,_

 _Valiant)_

 _(Valiant,_

 _Valiant,_

 _Valiant,_

 _Valiant!)_

Valiant jumped from the steps leading into the school. He could have sworn he was flying though, wings must have sprouted from him this year and granted him freedom from the status quo plagued beasts of the ground for now he would surely soar through the skies with the majesty of great eagles.

But such wings bring new laws. Flying too high and the sun shall melt your gift of flight away. Flying too low and the sea will burden down your flight.


	2. Waitin' for a No Name Kid

"Dear Diary,

It's been three weeks since I've become friends with the Henrys."

Valiant read over today's entry and squinted at it. Friends might be too strong a word. Oh sure, they turned him into an honorary "Henry" and gave him styling advice to make him worthy of said position, but they felt more like co-workers.

Co-workers at the job of being the most popular people in school, but still, Valiant don't really think "friend" is how he'd describe them.

"Hey Valiant" Martin waved, slowly approaching him.

Valiant snapped his notebook shut and turned to someone he actually could call a friend. "Hey".

"You're looking so cool these days." Martin commented, looking up and down at the boy less than a month ago would rub shoulders with him and could frankly call each other peers. Nowadays though.

"Ah man, it's still the same Valiant Sawyer underneath all this." Valiant said, arms out to show his clothes and confident smile.

"Are you sure?" Martin pressed, give a look to Valiant that clicked something in his head. Movie night with Martin.

"Look, I'm sorry I flunked out on Movie Night Martin" he sighed, "I, had a lot going on."

"I get that. You're with the Henrys now." Martin remarked.

"It's exciting." Valiant commented impulsively, quickly cooling down with a corrective "It's whatever. We'll hang together soon Martin, I promise." Martin responded with a single nod.

"Valiant!" Henry Duke called, walking over to him. "Henry says to haul ass to the caff, pronto!"

"Caff? Fine, let's go." Valiant scoffed, giving Martin a wave before walking with Henry Duke to the cafeteria.

Walking alongside Henry Duke, Valiant seemed to notice something odd with the yearbook attendant's breath. Rapid short breaths as he walked as though he had ran a marathon. He didn't attend any of the sports clubs yet he was not overweight from what Valiant could tell. What was the deal? Was it related to his growth spurt?

Approaching the cafeteria, Valiant sat down with the other Henrys at their usual table, which got Henry Chandler to start talking.

"I need a forgery in Rae Sweeney's handwriting." he explained.

This was another reason for Valiant's hesitance to call it a friendship. See, another responsibility of "work" was to help the Henrys forge letters, slips, passes and more. Valiant flipped to an empty page of his notebook and made a characteristic tear as he pulled the page out the notebook.

At the click of his pen, Valiant awaited Henry Chandler to start talking.

"Hi honey, I've been watching you." He started with Valiant copying in toe. Rae's vowels were always hanging slightly lower than her consonants, the flicks at the end of letters like "q" and "k" were always half as long as the last line drawn and dots were typically too faint to notice on first reading. Oh! And she is left handed. Rae and Kate hanged around the Henrys rather often to the point mimicking their handwriting, as well as the Henrys, got to become a habit for Valiant even when he wasn't crafting fake write ups.

"And thinking about us in the old days." Henry continued, "I hope you can come to my homecoming party this weekend. I miss you. Rae." he then pointed, "Put an "X O" after the signature", pointing at the name Valiant just finished writing.

"What is this for anyway?" Valiant asked while folding the note twice, another habit of Rae's.

"You know how Rae use to hang out with Martin Dumptruck?" Henry Chandler answered as he snatched the note from Valiant.

Valiant paused, Martin and Rae in the same sentence? Valiant has only heard that once before, and that was when Martin confessed to him his love for the latter. Valiant cautiously replies, "Well sure, but who didn't? We were all in the same kindergarden class remember?"

"We were not all kissing her on the kickball field, remember that?" Henry Duke corrected Valiant.

"Oh wow, I actually forgot that!" Henry McNamara interjected, "Rae kissed Martin Dumptruck." he gagged.

"Perfect" Henry Chandler grinned with Valiant's forged note dancing in his hands, stepping out from his seat and called over, "Hey Rae! I got something for you."

Valiant turned in his seat to see the two cheerleaders whispering and giggling to each other. From the time he spent in and out of the Henrys, he knew better than to try listening in too closely. That one time Kate gushed about wanting to ride Henry McNamara like a broncho and the subsequent over description of her fantasy taught Valiant a lesson in overhearing gossiping girls.

Rae approached Henry Chandler close and, as if practised, the Westerburg hunk laid his charm, "Would you be so precious to me as to hand this to Martin Dumptruck?"

"Wait no-" Valiant began, forgetting he was still sitting down and facing the wrong way. He turned his attention to properly leaving his seat as Henry Chandler and Rae continued.

"What would you want with a lard ass loser like Dumptruck?" Rae snorted alongside Kate, the two start to unfold the letter it.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. He's been auditioning for the football team and well, laundering jockstraps needs guidance." Henry Chandler added, the mental implications caused the girls to gag and shudder, immediately fold it back up without reading a single word and heading off.

Valiant quickly jumped out his chair and rushed to the girls, snatching the note "Yeah, never mind that. Henry doesn't want to help that nerd. Now shoo! Go!" he improvised, the girls confused walk off as Valiant marches back to the Henrys, "Martin's had a thing for Rae for 12 years now, this note would kill him!" he gestured with the note. "Come on Henry, you're bigger than this, surely."

[Henry Chandler] Are we going to have a problem?

You got a bone to pick?

You worked so hard, why now

are you pulling on my DICK!

The Henrys start to circle around Valiant, the blue clad teen quickly pocketing it alongside his notebook in his inside breast pocket. Chandler lunges towards Valinat and grabs the startled teen by the collar and pulls him close, the sparse population of the cafeteria slowly turns to witness the brewing conflict.

I'd normally smack your face off,

and you'd have to take that lick.

But I'm feeling nice,

Here's some advice,

Listen up, prick!

Valiant was promptly shoved away as the Henrys started to muscle him out of the cafeteria with their sheer presence. Despite the confidence boost his make over gave, Valiant was in no state to face off in a 3 on one. More importantly, the fake note needed protecting until he could figure out where to dispose it.

The Henrys led Valiant out the back end of the school building, near the football field. Practice was not on so for the most part, Valiant was alone. If this were to come to blows, he was screwed.

Despite their posturing, the Henrys seemed more interested in staying in stance for intimidation or...a dance? Valiant honestly could not tell. The Henrys had thier leading arm up to thier shoulder elbow sharply bent towards thier collars as if carrying a matador's cape. The back arm extended stiff with fingers snapping to a synced rhythm.

[McNamara & Duke] _I like!_

[Chandler] _Looking hot,_

 _Buying stuff they cannot._

[McNamara & Duke] _I like!_

 _[Chandler] Drinking hard,_

 _Maxing Mom's credit card._

[McNamara & Duke] _I like!_

[Chandler] Skipping gym,

Screwing her,

Scaring him.

[McNamara & Duke] _I like!_

[Chandler] _Killer clothes,_

[All Henrys] _Kicking nerds in the nose!_

The long stride the Henrys took before Valiant had the outnumbered lad recoil back in fear of actually getting kicked. His poor footing had him stumble back and somewhat slow to gain footing. This stumble has Valiant quickly circled again by the Henrys.

[Chandler] _If you lack the balls,_

 _You can go play dolls,_

 _Hide behind your Daddy's back._

[McNamara & Duke] _Whoa!_

[Chandler] _Or you can come smoke,_

 _Pound some rum and coke,_

 _In my Porsha with the girls in track._

[McNamara] _Whoa!_

[McNamara & Duke] _Whoa!_

[All Henrys] _Whoa!_

Duke and McNamara grabbed each of Valiant's arms and hoisted him before Henry Chandler. Valiant however pulled his arm out from McNamara's grip to cover his notebook pocket and shoved past Henry Duke, only for the Henry to quickly grab him by the collar and pull him back close to the judging faces of the Henrys.

[All Henrys] _Buddy, whatchu waiting for?_

The Henrys fanned out with each one keeping a grip near Valiant's neck as with a spare hand gestured back the doors leading back into the school, as if drawing attention to a grand spectacle of an opening.

 _Welcome to my Candy Store._

 _Time to prove you're not a loser, any more,_

Henry Duke and Henry McNamara started to step around Valiant while Henry Chandler held his position, with hands close, the boys lunged at Valiant's pockets. Valiant quickly clinched up but with his arms tight to him, Valiant decided to spin on his heels to vreak free.

 _And step into my Candy Store!_

With a dazed spin, Valiant pulled out of the Henrys' grips and formation before collapsing to his hands and knees, the Henrys tried to reposition again with Henry Chandler in front and McNamara and Duke on either side.

[Chandler] _Girls fall_

[McNamara & Duke] _At your feet,_

[Duke] _Stroke your dick_

[McNamara] _Help you cheat!_

The Henrys take a knee and lowered themselves towards Valiant, Henry Chandler extended his hand to hoist their comrade back up to their level.

[All Henrys] _All you,_

[McNamara & Duke] _Have to do,_

[Chandler] _Say goodbye, to Shamu!_

Valiant slapped Chandler's hand away and started to pull himself up. Before getting to his feet though, McNamara and Duke grabbed him by the torso and start to rummage at his jacket for the note.

[McNamara & Duke] _That freak's_

 _Not your friend,_

[All Henrys] _I can tell in the end_

 _If he,_

[Duke] _Had your shot,_

[All Henrys] _He would leave you to rot!_

Henry Duke slipped the note out of Valiant's pocket and quickly pulled away from the group. Before Valiant however can chase him, McNamara yanked him back.

[McNamara] _Course if you don't care,_

 _Fine, go mess your hair,_

 _Maybe Sesame Street is on._

[Chandler] _Whoa._

[McNamara] _Or forget that freak,_

 _Get into the jeep,_

[Chandler] _Let's go tear up someone's lawn._

Henry Chandler and Henry McNamara pulled Valiant back into the school building just in time to meet Henry Duke coming back to them. In a panic, Valiant broke away and rushed to find Martin to confess to the illegitimacy of the note. The Henrys followed in a horror movie like fashion as they strutted in thier imposing dance formation. No matter how fast the panicked "Henry" could sprint, no matter how many people he'd shove behind him to slow them down, the Henrys were forever in earshot.

[All Henrys] _Whoa!_

 _Whoa!_

 _Whoa!_

 _Buddy, whatchu waiting for?_

 _Welcome to my Candy Store!_

 _You just got to prove you're not a pussy, any more,_

 _And step into my Candy Store._

In a vain attempt to gain distance, students found themselves shoved by Valiant into the Henrys. The first a girl ushered aside by McNamara, second a rocker type who trips over in front of the over-stepping Chandler and the last a nerd who is tossed back by Duke.

[Chandler] _You can join the team,_

[McNamara & Duke] _Or you can bitch and moan,_

[Chandler] _You can live the dream,_

[McNamara & Duke] _Or you can die alone!_

Valiant finally spotted Martin, his bright sweatered back facing Valiant. Valiant clenched hard before charging onwards. By this point, the students quickly part way before the trio of school elites gracing the school ground like a dance floor.

[Chandler] _You can fly with the Eagles,_

[All Henrys] _Or this can stop,_

[Chandler] _Keep on testing me,_

[All Henrys] _And this life will drop!_

Valiant finally grasped at Martin's shoulder and turned his friend to face him. The husky boy beamed a smile like a stake through Valiant's heart once he saw, clasped tight to Martin's chest, the note.

"Valiant look!" Martin held out the note, "Rae invited me to her homecoming party. See, I told you she was thinking about me!"

Valiant forced a smile, and replied, "Color me stoked." He couldn't do it. Not now, poor Martin looked like a child on Christmas, the sudden truth would murder him and probably Valiant. He swallowed the truth down into his stomach.

Martin gushed, "I'm so happy!" before rushing away with the note. WHAM! Another stake in the heart. Valiant felt pinned to the ground and with that, the Henrys caught up, Henry Duke leading first.

[Duke] _Whoa!_

 _Buddy whatchu waiting for?_

[Chandler] Shut up Henry!

With all the force of timber to the Earth, Henry Chandler struck Henry Duke in the neck with his elbow. McNamara quickly helping his friend back into position. In formation, the Henrys carried the emotionally defeated Valiant back to the cafeteria.

 _Step into my Candy Store!_

[McNamara & Duke] _Time to prove your not a lame ass, any more,_

[All Henrys] _Then step into my Candy Store._

The Henrys placed the emotionally wrought prodigy down close to the cafeteria entrance. Valiant'sear prick up to the sound of a choir of snapping fingers as the Henrys snap around him and sturt their way to the cafeteria.

 _It's my Candy Store_

 _It's my Candy,_

 _It's my Candy Store_

 _It's my Candy,_

 _It's my Candy Store!_

The lunch hour commenced, a dark lump of truth weighs too heavily on Valiant's stomach to feel obliged to eat today. Of course, the absence of a Henry, even one as unofficial as him, would probably cause more trouble than its worth. Not to mention that little routine strut from the Henrys was a command as subtle as a foghorn to follow so, reluctantly, Valiant heads for the cafeteria.

"You know you shouldn't have bowed down to the letterman jacket blackshirts, they're going to crush that boy." A young woman piped up. Valiant turns to see a short girl clad in a trenchcoat leaning on the wall just outside of the cafeteria, eyes pointed at the open book in front of her. The image almost looked cute to Valiant, her mocha skin and short tangled mess of jet black hair keeping away from her densely dark though alluring brown eyes.

"I'm sorry, what?" Valiant asked. Did she watch all that this morning, Valiant pondered. He supposed if she was sitting here the whole time, she would have had enough chunks of said story for an educated guess.

The girl straightened up off the wall and snapped her book shut and walked up to Valiant to direct her message to him. "Look, it's obvious you still have a soul. You just need to work on keeping it as clean as the rest of you" she pointed out, examining some of the scuffs and dirt on Valiant from his contact with the Henrys. "Well, most of the rest of you."

Valiant tried to wipe himself down before the trenchcoated girl added, "We are all born marked for evil" with a sly smirk before she walked towards the cafeteria.

"Hey whoawhoawhoa. You don't get to quote Baudelaire at me and walk off." He stated, quickly stepping between her and the cafeteria. "I didn't catch your name little miss."

The girl casually walked past Valiant, lifting Valiant's left arm over her head as she did so, with a passing "I didn't throw it" before continuing on into the cafeteria and catching the glares of Rae and Kate.

"Who does that girl even this she is?" Rae spits, "Bow-didiley?"

Kate speaks up, "Valiant is probably into her "act" no doubt."

"Let's slap her face!"

"Oh come on Rae, we're seniors now. Aren't we too old for petty ca-"

Before Kate can complete her statement however, Rae struts up to the trenchcoat girl, passing right by Valiant. "Hey!" she shouts, "Sweetheart!" she quickly slaps the trenchcoat girl's book right out of her hand. "What did your girlfriend say when you told her you were moving to Sherwood, Ohio?"

Kate rushed up, forcing Valiant to reel back at the speeding cheerleader. "Hey, my girl Rae here just asked you a question." she jabbed.

"Say Kate, doesn't the cafeteria have a clear NO FAGS rule?" Rae sneered.

"Why yes, it sure does Rae." Kate replied.

"Shame they have such an open door policy for bitches though, whose guiding who?" The trench coat girl snarked as she reached back down for her book, Rae glares with a burning fury in her eyes at this no-named kid.

"Grab her arms", Rae commanded Kate.

Kate quickly snatched the nameless girl into a full nelson armlock, only for the girl to easily boot Rae away and violently swing Kate off. The three then start to enter a rather violent handicap fight, Kate even getting herself thrown into one of the cafeteria tables with the trenchcoat girl's book pressed into her gut.

[Backers] _Holy shit (holy shit),_

 _Holy shit (holy shit),_

 _Holy shit,_

 _Holy shit,_

 _Holy shit,_

 _Holy shit,_

 _Holy shit!_

In a moment, time slowed before Valiant's very eyes. The mad dance of violence and the prowess this no name girl carried herself with made Valiant's heart flutter.

[Valiant] _Why when you see girls fight,_

 _Does it look so dreadful, yet_

 _Feel so right?_

 _I shouldn't watch this crap that's not who I am,_

 _But with this kid,_

 _DAMN._

With blood coursing through him like never before, his heart pounding against the wall of his chest, jaw unhinged in awe and love hearts in the sockets where his eyeballs should be, Valiant started to feel the spark of affection for this Baudelaire spouting little Mrs No Name Kid.

 _Hey, Mrs No Name Kid,_

 _Say who might you be?_

 _And would you fight for me?_

 _And hey, could you face the crowd,_

 _Could you be seen with me and still act proud?_

Valiant's mind began to dream. He walked closer to the fracas as it gathered crowds and with the closer view, his imagination opened up to have this girl and him face to face again.

 _Hey, could you hold my hand,_

 _And would you carry me through No Man's Land?_

 _It's fine, if you don't agree,_

 _but I could fight for you,_

 _if you would fight for me._

By this point, the imagination had soaked up all of Valiant's senses. The sight of the brawl coated by the fall of springtime flowers. The sound of cracked knuckles and pained shrieks swallowed by angelic chorus. Unaware the girls found themselves trading blows all around him.

 _Let them drive us underground,_

 _I don't care how far,_

 _You can mend my broken bones and I know CPR._

A sudden fist from the trench-coated girl whiffed from its intended cheerleader target, cracks open Valiant's daydream and catches him in the gut. He gasps partially before backing away into the crowd once more, this time a touch more aware of the events.

 _Wow, you can punch real good,_

 _You've lasted longer than I thought you would,_

 _So hey, Mrs No Name Kid,_

 _If some night you're free,_

 _Wanna fight for me?_

 _If you're still alive, (Holy shit!)_

 _I could fight for you, (Holy shit, Holy shit!)_

 _If you would fight for me. (Holy shit, Holy shit, Holy shit!)_

The remaining school day blurred in Valiant's mind at the thought of that cute tough girl with the trench coat. This auto-pilot state even followed him after school.


	3. Parents freeze Brains

"God Valiant, drool much?"

Valiant snapped out of his girl sick stupor at the sound of Henry Chandler's statement. Where was he again? Croquet? What? Henry? What? Drool? What? Croquet? What?

"You were practically growing a third leg over that new kid." Henry Chandler jabbed, the silent beat was then offset by Henry Chandler glaring back at Henry McNamara and Henry Duke, who responded with a rather weak, laugh.

They didn't seem interested in mocking Valiant, in his 3 weeks he learned that if Chandler ever made a joke, everyone had to laugh, no dead rooms allowed. It was just a silent rule everyone, Valiant included, followed. Other rules included don't make Henry McNamara frown and nobody spreads rumors about Henry Duke.

"And by the look of your house" Henry Chandler glanced behind Valiant, looking up and down the building that supported the back garden the group was playing croquet in, "You can't afford replacements if you creamed yourself." the Henrys laugh track played once again.

Valiant scoffed at Henry's remarks before going back to line up his mallet with the ball, "Oh give me a break Henry. I don't even know her name." He smacked the ball through the hoop and onwards towards an opening door, "Dad! Mom! Look out!" he called out, an adult male quickly pulls away his leg just in time for the ball to roll safely by.

The adult, Valiant's dad, steps out with a platter with his wife following behind him. "Here you go boys. Any of you care for some pate?" he asks.

Glancing at the platter, Henry Chandler quickly corrected him "That, is not pate. It's liverwurst."

"Oh" Valiant's dad replied, "I know that Henry, its a family joke!" before forcing himself to laugh raucously to the accompaniment of nobody.

"Funny." Chandler retorted sarcastically.

"Dammit, can somebody tell me why I read this romance novels?" Valiant's mother asked.

"Because you are an idiot mom." Valiant replied.

"...Oh yeah, that's it!" She admitted, turning away from the boys to keep flicking through the pages.

"Ah ha ha, you two" Valiant's dad chuckled awkwardly before stepping past his son to address the Henrys in particular, "So boys" he started before taking a serving of liverwurst, "Any plans tonight?"

Noticing Henry Chandler's visible disgust, Valiant quickly butted in with, "Big homecoming party at Rae Sweeney's house. I'm going to be catching a ride there with Henry."

"Speaking of which." Henry spoke before he swung his mallet onto his shoulder and picked up his croquet ball, fellow Henrys mirroring his actions before they walked out towards Henry Chandler's car.

Valiant cringed before turning to his dad, "Thanks dad, great pate but we need to motor if we want to get to the party in time." he said, quickly turning to follow before his Dad grabbed his arm and pulled the boy back.

"Don't let the popular boys change you." Valiant's dad warned him.

"I need them" Valiant replied lowly to not draw attention.

"For what? You have friends. You have Martin, he's a good sport."

"Maybe I want more out of life than liverwurst."

"Ahem!" Henry Chandler interrupted, prompting Valiant to collect his own croquet supplies and leave.

"Those boys seem really nice." Valiant's mom concluded as the Henrys and Valiant left the house.

The Henrys with Valiant make a stop near a 7/11 on their drive to the party. Valiant jumps out the car and turns to the Henrys, "Want me to get anything before the party guys?"

"Well its almost a tradition to bri-" Henry McNamara started.

"Corn Nuts!" Henry Chandler interrupted.

"Yeah, what Henry said." Henry McNamara confirmed.

"Get the corn nuts." Henry Chandler ordered Valiant.

"Yes, yes, corn nuts. Got you." Valiant nodded before briskly walking to the 7/11.

His sight catches a familiar form, drinking out of a cup with a straw. Messy short hair. Mocha skin tone. Standing up to his armpit. Trench coat. It was her. Mrs No Na-

"VALIANT!" Henry Chandler bellowed as the doors opened, "DON'T FORGET THE CORN NUTS! IT'S NOT A HOMECOMING PARTY WITHOUT CORN NUTS!"

"Yes Henry." Valiant shouted back, before pausing and asking back, "Plain or BQ?"

"BQ!" Henry answered with the same ferocity as before.

Valiant approached the corn nuts and started to fish through them for the BQ corn nuts. As he looked, the trench-coated girl sauntered over into the same aisle and leaned over to Valiant once he found the BQ corn nuts as Henry requested.

"Greetings and salutations." the girl greeted, her sudden presence causing the taller Westerburg student to step back. "Would you like a Slurpee with that?" She enquired.

"No, but if you are a good girl, I could buy you a Big Gulp." Valiant responded with his own Henrys brand charm.

"Yeah, and maybe if we met at Mickey D's, you'd be offering me a salad!" she scoffed, "Slurpee, is the signature drink of the house, now would that be Cherry or Lime?"

"It would be a Big Gulp." He corrected before raising his hands and ceasing the conversation. New plan, introduce yourself. "I'm Valiant Sawyer by the way." he greeted, he tossed the corn nuts back into their tray and cupped his hands like a baseball catcher, "I'm ready to catch your name now".

The girl smiled, "Alright, here's the pitch.", she then presented her free hand, "My name is Joslyn Dean, J.D. for short".

Valiant shook her hand and started to take back the BQ corn nuts with his free hand. "So J.D. that thing you pulled at school was rather severe."

"Aw, sorry big boy, I didn't know my punch hurt that much." She joked, "The extreme always seems to make an impression though."

"So what brings a poetry spouting, bad ass girl like you to Sherwood, Ohio?" Valiant asked with a smile.

"Mom's work." J.D. stated with a punctuated eye-roll, "She runs a deconstruction company."

"Deconstruction company?"

"Yup, the old girl loves to tear everything down." J.D. remarked, "You haven't seen the T.V. commercials? "Well I'm Big Bertha Dean, if it's in your way, I'll make your day!"."

"Right, and she stomps on the plunger and the screen blows up." Valiant added with his own gestures to visualise it, only to slowly piece the parts together, "That's your mom?"

"In all her toxic glory." J.D. responded.

Valiant shrugged, "Well, everybody's life's got static."

"VALIANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNT!" Henry Chandler blared now with the somehow more harmonious car horn blaring alongside him.

Valiant sighed before making his way to the reception counter with the BQ corn nuts, "Case in point, I don't really like my friends."

"I hate your friends too. How about you bag that party and just hang out here instead?" J.D. suggested, following him.

"At the 7/11? Not one for good dating spots are you?" Valiant blew off, continuing his approach to the reception. A part of him was tempted to invite her but 3 Henrys and her in the car with Valiant. Those poor boys wouldn't survive to the party.

"Hey, I love this place." J.D. defended, shaking her near empty Slurpee cup and heading for the Slurpee machine.

"Not to be rude but, why?" Valiant asked, having just stopped to hear this irregular girl out.

[J.D.] _I've been through ten high schools,_

 _They start to get blurry._

 _No point planting roots,_

' _cause you're gone in a hurry,_

 _My mom keeps two suitcases packed in the den,_

 _So it's only a matter of when._

J.D. starts to pace past a bunch of branded foods, looking over them as she approaches Valiant.

 _I don't learn the names,_

 _Don't bother with faces,_

 _All I can trust is this concrete oasis,_

 _Seems every time I'm about to despair,_

 _There's a 7/11 right there._

From her trench coat pocket she pulls out some rather dull vacation postcards for each of the states she's been to and shows them to Valiant.

 _Each store is the same,_

 _From Las Vegas to Boston,_

She started to pull Valiant around the 7/11, down each aisle and back.

 _Linoleum aisles that I love,_

 _to get lost in._

Finally she stops back at the Slurpee machine and starts to caress it as it vended her refill.

 _I pray at my altar of slush,_

 _yeah I live for that sweet frozen rush…_

J.D. sipped her refilled Slurpee cup. She shuddered and cradled her now hurt head with a smile on her face.

 _Freeze your brain!_

 _Suck on that straw,_

 _Get lost in the pain._

 _Happiness comes,_

 _When everything numbs,_

 _Who needs cocaine?_

 _Freeze your brain,_

 _Freeze your brain…_

J.D. held the Slurpee out as an offering to Valiant. "Care for a hit?" she asked with a smile.

Valiant playfully pushed the straw away from him back to J.D. with his index finger and asked with a smirk, "Does Daddy know his little girl's drinking crap?"

J.D. turned away with her cup and responded, "Not any more". Valiant's smirk changed into a grimace for touching a sensitive topic.

 _When dad was alive,_

 _We lived halfway normal,_

 _But now it's just me and my mom,_

 _We're less formal._

 _I learned to cook pasta,_

 _I learned to pay rent,_

 _Learned the world doesn't_

 _owe you a cent._

J.D. turned back to Valiant and started to playfully toy with him.

 _You're planning your future,_

 _Valiant Sawyer,_

 _You'll go to some college,_

 _And marry a lawyer._

 _But the sky's gonna hurt when it falls,_

 _So you better start building some walls._

Valiant started to back away from the counter. Those corn nuts weren't going to buy themselves and as precious as a tough girl with a soft center was, he couldn't spend a whole night with her he deduced. J.D. backed away and then began a dance that caught Valiant's attention once again.

 _Freeze your brain,_

 _Swim in the ice,_

 _Get lost in the pain,_

 _Shut your eyes tight,_

 _Till you vanish from sight,_

 _Let nothing remain -_

J.D.'s dance started to lose its initial poise as she starts to raise her free hand to press and hit against her head.

 _Freeze your brain,_

 _Shatter your skull,_

 _Fight pain with more pain._

 _Forget who you are,_

 _Unburden your load,_

 _Forget in six week you'll be_

 _Back on the road._

 _When the voice in your head,_

 _Says you're better off dead,_

 _Don't open a vein -_

The messy haired girl drops her arms and slowly inhales to return to a more graceful dancing stance before slowly making her way to the rather worried Valiant.

 _Just freeze your brain,_

 _Freeze your brain,_

 _Go on and freeze your brain…_

Slowly, J.D. pirouetted back to Valiant and gestured her Slurpee cup once more and stated, "Try it".

Valiant shrugged and pursed his lips around the straw and sucked the cherry flavored slush into his mouth and down his throat. With one gulp, his lips released the straw. "I don't see the ap-" he began, before his face contorted with the rush of pain in his head. "God dammit."

"Valiant" Henry Chandler called while far less loud though only because now he was right behind the brain freeze victim. "Corn nuts. Now."

"Yes Henry." Valiant obeyed, promptly purchasing the corn nuts at the reception before handing the BQ corn nuts to Henry.

"...Wave bye bye to Red Dawn here and let's motor!" Henry commanded with a heel turn and strut back out of the 7/11.

With a rub to the back of his neck, Valiant gave his wave to J.D. and a smile before chasing behind Henry Chandler. She opened up a lot to me Valiant thought, he should probably give her some words of comfort over her issues when he next has the chance. Valiant figured he'd need to keep a note of that for Monday, it didn't seem likely he'd get to see J.D. again over the weekend.


	4. Big Boy Walking

At the Sweeneys' residence, a pair of teenagers and their mothers stand at the porch, the former trying to wish the latter off for the evening.

"Ok Rae, have fun tonight." The more formally dressed woman stated, "But I expect you to act your age. The Henshaws have the number to the hotel." She pointed out a house next door, "If they call to complain, I will come back and swat both your asses!"

"Girl, what am I, five?" Rae scoffed.

"I'm your mom, not your girl." Mrs Sweeney replied before the taller dark skinned woman walked over and pointed to Kate.

"And that goes double for you Kate!" she warned, "You are a guest in Wilma's house, and you will treat it with respect" before giving a confirming nod to the suited woman.

"Sure thing...girl" Kate replied, quickly stepping next to Rae to share a chuckle with her, only for Wilma to push her up towards Kate's mom one-handed. She keeps her hand pressed behind Kate as she pleads to her own defence "Hey it was funny, come on."

"Whose being a naughty bitch?" Kate's mom questions before grabbing one of her daughter's nipples tight and twisting slightly.

"I-I'm not a bitch!" Kate yells painfully in defiance.

"You think showing your mother up is good humor, so whose a naugthy bitch?" Kate's mom repeats with more violent twists.

"Agh O-Ok, I'm a bitch! I'm a naughty bitch." Kate screams pleadingly.

"Damn right you are." Kate's mom declares, releasing her daughter as Wilma pulls the girl back to Rae, "Thanks for the support there Wilma" Kate's mom adds.

"No problem girl, discipline is necessary for them." Wilma replies before giving her 'girl' a high five and turning off to head for the waiting taxi alongside Kate's mom, who gives the teenage girls a flippant hair flick behind her as she leaves.

The girls retreat into house, Kate nursing herself with a defeated "Ugh, that sucks."

"It doesn't matter girl, the parents are gone and I got my party scrunchie on!" Rae declares with a flick of her ponytail to better illustrate the presence of her scrunchie. The girls give each other a big high-five much like their mothers before pulling open all the windows and doors.

With the sudden openings, senior classmates begin to flush into the house. The Henrys and Valiant in particular enter through the front door of the house with Henry Chandler immediately laying the charm on the hostesses Rae and Kate. Henry Duke slinks and starts to look around before loosening up his letterman jacket to feel his chest. An exclaimed expression appears on his face. Henry McNamara runs all around the house like a wild party collie, shepherding as many members in the house, Henry Duke included, to the living room for dancing.

Valiant stops himself at the doorway at first and sees the growing crowd. He has never cut loose as a Henry before. Does he have it in him he wondered. A sharp inhale later, Valiant stepped into the house and got to work as a partying Henry.

[Rae] _Mom says act our age,_

 _You heard her then,_

 _It's time to rage._

[All] _Blast the bass,_

 _Turn out the lights,_

[Henrys] _Ain't nobody home tonight._

[Rae] _Drink, smoke, it's all cool,_

 _Let's get naked in my pool!_

[All] _Punch the wall and start a fight,_

 _Ain't nobody home tonight!_

[Kate] _Her folks got a waterbed,_

 _Come upstairs and rest your head._

[Rae] _Let's rub each other's backs,_

 _while watching porn on Cinemax!_

[Henrys] _The folks are gone,_

[Rae and Kelly] _It's time for big fun! (big fun!)_

[All] _We're up till dawn,_

 _Having some big fun! (big fun!)_

Valiant is suddenly pushed by a wave of students further into the kitchen as various students start to open up all the shelves and drawers until someone raises a bottle of alcohol as their raided spoils.

[All] _When mom and dad forget,_

 _To look the liquor cabinet,_

 _It's big fun! (big fun!)_

 _Big fun!_

 _Whoo!_

As the night continued, the now rather drunk Valiant talks with the Henrys about how to take his shots.

"Ok ok, so lemme get this right." Valiant slurred, "It's shot, then lime, then salt!" he recited as he physically plays out each step.

"Oh no no Valiant, it's salt then-" Henry McNamara began before a rather angry drunk Henry Chandler spits out.

"You're doing it wrong!"

"Really?" Valiant responded with surprise, "'cause I feel great!" throwing himself onto the sofa behind him. A preppy babe of a girl passes by the lounging Valiant and comments smiling, "Hey Valiant. Looking good tonight." with a cute wink before walking on.

Stunned, Valiant straightens up and looks at the Henrys.

[Valiant] Whoa

 _A hot girl smiled at me,_

 _Without a trace of mockery!_

[All bar Valiant] _Everyone's high as a kite,_

 _Ain't nobody home tonight!_

[Valiant] _Stoned, Zoned I should quit…_

 _Hey, is that weed? I want a hit._

[All bar Valiant] _Fill that joint and roll it tight,_

 _ain't nobody home tonight!_

With a puff of the joint, Valiant made for the center of the dancing room, breaking away from the Henrys.

[Valiant] _Dreams are coming true,_

 _When people laugh but not at you!_

 _I'm not alone! I'm not afraid!_

 _Feel like Madonna at Live Aid!_

[All] _The house is ours,_

 _It's time for big fun! (big fun!)_

 _Let's use their showers,_

 _That sounds like,_

 _Big fun! (big fun!)_

In the tumult, Valiant is pushed out onto a sofa where sitting across from him is a couple deep into making out with each other.

[All] _Crack open one more case!_

[Valiant] I think that's what they call, "third base".

[All] _Big fun!_

 _Big fun!_

 _Big fun!_

[Valiant] That actually looks like-

Valiant pulls himself up off the sofa as a pair of jocks holding up a pig piñata with "Jefferson Razorbacks" scrawled on his sides, led by Kate and Rae make their way to the centre of the room.

[All] _Big fun!_

 _Big fun!_

 _Big fun!_

[Kate] All right people, What's Westerburg gonna do to the Razorbacks at Sunday's game?

[Rae] Gonna make 'em go

The jocks carrying the pig then proceed to mime a sexual spit roast on it, thrusting to the rhythm as coordinated by Rae's cheers of:

[Rae] Whee! Whee! Whee! Whee!

[All] _Big fun! (Big fun!)_

At his left, Valiant hears Henry Duke scoff with an eye-roll and arms crossed. His remarks catch the attention of Rae too.

[Henry Duke] Way to show maturity.

[All] _Big fun! (Big fun!)_

Rae starts to back up into Henry Duke, thrusting out her ass and grinding it against Henry who, visibly discomforted, tries to back away from her.

[Henry Duke] Quit it Harpy, get off of me!

[All] _Big fun! (Big fun!)_

With Henry Duke pinned with his back to the wall, Valiant immediately steps in.

"Hey Rae! Emergency!" He calls to her, the attention causing her to pull away from Henry and straighten up to Valiant, "I just saw some freshmen climbing over the pool-side fence!" he improvised.

Rae's eyes narrow with a quiet "I hate freshmen." before she charges off yelling "Where are you little cunts? I'm coming for you!…"

Henry looks at Valiant with a scowl, "I didn't need your help" he snaps before flipping the bird at him.

Valiant chuckles and starts to pat Henry's hand, "Aw thanks Henry, but I don't need to throw up right now!"

[All] _The party's hot, hot, hot._

 _It's time for big fun! (big fun!)_

[Kate] You need a jello shot!

With Henry Duke retreating away from the scene, Kate slams a shot glass into Valiant's chest, the woozy teen shrugs and starts to do it, slowly meeting with the Henrys at the stairs overlooking the front door.

[All] _We're having big fun! (big fun!)_

Approaching the open door is a bright sweater covering a rotund mass of nerves. Martin clings onto a bottle of sparkling cider as he awkwardly walks through the front door. Valiant places the shot glass onto a small table and starts to meet up with Martin. His friend made it, this is sweet Valiant, the mixture of the drinks and atmosphere fogging up his memory for why Martin was here. The lump of guilt was drenched in liquor and felt more like a floating island than anything for Valiant. Overhead at the top of the stairs, the Henrys watch, slowly descending the stairs as Valiant leads Martin into another room of the house.

[Henry Chandler] Martin Dumptruck, in the flesh.

[Henry Duke] Here comes the Loser Squad,

We should -

[Chandler] Shut up, Henry!

[Duke] Sorry Henry.

[Henry McNamara] Look who's with him – Oh, my God!

The Henrys realise Valiant is with Martin as McNamara points at him.

[Henrys] _Dang! Dang! Diggety-dang-a-dang!_

 _Dang! Dang! Diggety-dang-a-dang!_

Valiant wrapped his arm over Martin's shoulder with a grin on his face, "I can't believe you actually came."

Martin smiled back, "It's exciting right? Oh sorry Valiant, I need to say hi to Rae. I brought sparkling cider!" he beamed before rushing off ahead of Valiant. Behind the slick headed tipsy teen, the Henrys continue to watch on from the hallway to the front door.

[Chandler] _Showing up here took some guts,_

 _Time to rip them out!_

Henry Duke looks over and grabs the now abandoned pig piñata and brings it back to the other Henrys.

[Duke] _Well who's this pig remind you of?_

 _Especially the snout._

[Chandler] Ha!

[Henrys] _Dang! Dang! Diggety-dang-a-dang!_

 _Dang! Dang! Diggety-dang-a-dang!_

The Henrys retreat away from sight with the piñata as Valiant turns around touching his face. Is their stuff on his face? Shoot, the drinks and party are distracting him from his station. I better find a washroom and clear my face...and head Valiant decided, walking upstairs for one.

Martin waddled up to Rae who was still driven by the possibly of wretched freshmen sneaking in her homecoming party. "H-Hi Rae." he started.

"Where the hell are those freshmen?!" Rae shrieked in frustration before turning to face Martin.

"I-I wasn't going to come but, since you took the time to write that sweet note I-"

"What note?" Rae questioned as she swiped the cider from Martian, "Why d'you gotta be so weird all the time? Ya know, people wouldn't hate you so much if you acted normal."

Rae then started to chug the entire bottle but, by the second mouthful, she spews it out all over Martin who reflexively flinches at her outburst.

"There's no alchohol in here? Are you trying to poison me?" Rae interrogated with hands on her hips, one hand closed around the neck of the cider bottle.

[All] _Dang! Dang! Diggety-dang-a-dang!_

 _Dang! Dang! Diggety-dang-a-dang!_

 _Dang! Dang! Diggety-dang-a-dang!_

 _Diggety-dang-a-dang!_

 _The folks are gone,_

 _It's time for big fun! (Big Fun!)_

 _We're up till dawn,_

 _Having some big fun! (Big fun!)_

 _So let the speakers blow,_

 _They'll buy another stereo._

 _Our folks got no clue_

 _'Bout all the shit their children do._

Relieved of his clean up and straightened head, Valiant leaves the restroom and slides down the bannister. One more act of fun before I wind down Valiant figured, until he broke part of the bannister end off at the landing. Quickly, he tried to place the end piece back up and nonchalantly walked back into the party.

 _Why are they surprised?_

 _Whenever we're unsupervised,_

 _It's big fun! (Big fun!)_

 _Big fun!_

 _Big fun!_

 _Big fun!_

 _Whooo!_

With the cheer of the crowd in the dance room, the Henrys made their return downstairs. Henry Chandler took the lead with Henry Duke holding up the piñata behind him and at the far back Henry McNamara with a baseball bat in hand. Chandler accidentally knocks the end piece Valiant put back up over and with a shrug, continues on, Duke kicks it against the doorway intentionally and McNamara swiftly tries to put it back up before joining back up with the Henrys.

"Ok Westerburgers." Henry Chandler announced, hands up wide, "Time to celebrate our victory over the Razorbacks by whacking apart their mascot!" His loud announcement starting to draw in more people into the dancing room, Rae and Martin included. The more populated room begins to cheer at the prospect.

"Of course we are going to need a volunteer". Henry McNamara, swinging a baseball bat somewhat casually yet with impressive enough precision to hit no one or thing in the room beyond the open air. "So what aboooooout..." He spins the bat around until he points deliberately at Martin Dunnstock.

"Martin Dunnstock!" Chandler called out, "I think you should do the honors!", the use of Martin's surname drew a suspicious glance from Valiant. When did they ever call him by his full name Valiant queried.

Martin stepped forward with a smile, "I actually never played this game before." he admitted as Chandler started to take his glasses off of his face.

"Alright everyone, some Westerburg spirit if you please." McNamara cheered, "Martin!"

"Martin!"

"Martin!"

Soon the entire room sans Valiant was in on the cheer. Chandler started to tie something around Martin's eyes and spin him violently. What's going on Valiant asked himself.

Valiant rushed over to the Henry's and bumped into Henry Duke, spotting the pig pinata in his hands. There was something off about it though, where was the razorbacks writing on the sides? Oh they were covered by a tube top of sorts...why?

"Give me the pig!" Valiant ordered as he started to wrestle it out of Henry Duke's hands. Despite Duke's superior muscle mass, Valiant managed to break the Henry's grasp at the expense of the audience's approval as they bellowed with annoyance at Valiant ruining the surprise, the loudest detractor being Henry Chandler.

"Valiant! Where are you going with that pig?" He questioned before chasing him out of the house entirely towards the pool. "Valiant don't you dare!"

"You want the pig?" Valiant asked, "Then swim for it!" he cried before tossing the pig overarm into the vacant swimming pool. A loud splash met by deadened enthusiasm from the spectating party goers. Valiant immediately turned back to Martin, who started to pull the eye cover off in confusion. "Martin, go home." Valiant said.

"What?" Martin asked.

"Go!" Valiant repeats, snatching the bat out of his perplexed friends grasp.

"What about the-"

"I'll explain everything later, just please go home now!" Valiant pleaded. Martin, reluctantly obeyed and rushed out the house. Valiant could feel the cold glares of the Henrys behind him.

Turning around, Valiant surrenders the bat to Henry Chandler, face as red as his clothes with drunken fury. "Well, we gave it a shot. I'm resigning from the meathead Gestapo and returning to civilian life." Valiant concluded.

"No." Henry Chandler responded before throwing a punch at Valiant. Fortunately, the refreshing wash up put Valiant above Chandler in reflexes and shifted away from the angered jock. "No, you don't GET to be a nobody!" Chandler snapped before grabbing Valiant by his jacket and pulls him close, "Come Monday, you'll be an EX-somebody. Not even the loser nobodies will touch you now."

Each sentence from Chandler's mouth was punctuated with a violent shake. Oh boy, Valiant thought, something in his stomach acted funny. The alcohol sloushing around was starting to move, but not downwards. At first, Valiant was relieved, how humiliating it would be to piss himself in front of Henry Chandler right not? Another shake was needed for Valiant to realise his stomach was pushing up. Oh no.

"You can transfer to Washington or even transfer to Jefferson, but nobody outside of Westerburg is going to let you play their reindeer games!" Chandler stated with more shaking and this time even lifting Valiant over his head in an impressive feat of drunkard strength. An unfortunate decision however as Valiant felt the discomforting itch of something tickling the back of his throat.

Bluarggh!

From forehead down, Henry Chandler was caked in Valiant's puke. The sudden shock had Valiant dropped back to his feet with a heavy stumble. The spectators gasped with murmurs of "Holy shit!", "Oh my God!", "Henrys Showdown"!

Henry Chandler screamed, "Motherfucker!" and tried to swing at Valiant again and, once again, missed. Valiant at this point was ready to flee, but not without a furious, item flinging Henry Chandler charging behind him.

"I raise your scrawny ass from nothing!" Chandler shouted, hurling a bottle a foot above Valiant, "And this is how you repay me? In puke?" a bowl of corn nuts is smashed just right of Valiant off of the wall from Henry's throw.

"Well lick it up honey." Valiant sassed, "Lick. It. Up!" The sass spiked an uproar from the spectators.

Henry Chandler stops short of grabbing something else and forms a look back at Valiant, "I know who I will be eating lunch with on Monday, do you?" In that moment, another student presents Henry Chandler a towel which he snatches. "Alright everyone, let's bust the keg open! Pool party here we go!"

Everyone cheered and started to funnel away, Henry Chandler shoulder barging past Valiant. Less than a month of power and now poof! Valiant walked out the front door, a pang of a headache arising as he sauntered away from the party.

Urgh, head's blaring, legs buckling, mind swirling, where was he even going? Valiant continued to stumble down roads, with not even the foggiest clue where he was going.

His legs finally gave up and with a WHAM, he fell onto the pavement with his cheek to the ground. The pain was numb now, but come later on, he'll be bruised, suffering…

And a freak. Again.

With his face looking over the road to a couple of buildings, one sporting a light at its top right window, the dogged and dropped "Henry" sighs and rolls onto his back,

[Valiant] _The Demon King of High School has decreed it,_

 _He says, Monday 8am, I'll be deleted!_

 _They'll hunt me down in study hall,_

 _Stuff and mount me on the wall;_

 _Thirty hours to live-_

 _How shall I spend them?_

Valiant starts to sit up into a sitting position before steadily reaching back to his feet, chest puffed up as though facing down a supervillain.

 _I don't have to stay and die like cattle,_

 _I could-_

Valiant threw his hands up into the air and heel turned away to mimic fleeing.

 _-change my name and ride up to Seattle._

 _But I don't own a motorbike -_

At the corner of his eye, the lit room displays a familiar looking teenage girl hanging up her trench coat, rubbing her head of hair and snapping the light off.

 _Wait – here's an option that I like;_

Valiant starts to loosen his collar and walk up towards the house, slowly his charm flowing back into him, back straightened and gait with the pride once sprayed all over Henry Chandler's jacket.

 _Spend these thirty hours gettin' – Freakay!_

 _I need it hard,_

 _I'm a dead boy walking!_

Valiant starts to eye up all the sills and other footholds to help him climb up to the window. Fortunate for him that the crooked tree hanging just by J.D.'s window has better holds for his rather drunk self to climb up.

 _I'm in your yard,_

 _I'm a dead boy walking!_

 _Before they punch my clock,_

Valiant rather recklessly kicks the lock to J.D.s window. Despite him snapping the lock off, the window itself shudders slightly to the impact and nothing more. Valiant starts to climb through the window.

 _I'm snapping off your window lock._

 _Got no time to knock,_

 _I'm a dead boy walking!_

With surprising grace, Valiant sneaks in through the window, its cold breeze creates a shift in J.D.s bed, she rolls over to face the window and blinks towards Valiant.

"Valiant!" She exclaims, covers pulled up over her vest clad chest. She then asks in a hushed tone "What are you doing in my room?"

Valiant simply gives a gentle shush in response before straightening up and drawing her curtains.

 _I seem to got lost all of a sudden,_

 _I hope you might just ride me till I'm broken._

' _Cause Henry says I gots to go,_

 _You're my last meal on Death row,_

 _Shut your mouth, and take off all my clothing!_

With his last command, he unzipped the jacket and allowed it to slip off his arms by arching himself back before kicking his shoes off. Before he can start with anything else, J.D. leaves her bed to help remove his t-shirt and unbutton his pants. Valiant starts to hold her close to him and feel her sensually.

 _Come on!_

 _Tonight I'm yours!_

 _I'm your dead boy walking!_

With Valiant's pants unfastened, he quickly pulls a condom from deep in his pants pocket before J.D. pulls them down, going down herself.

 _Get on all fours!_

 _Kiss this dead boy walking!_

Stepping out his pants and clenching the condom between his fingers, he lifts J.D. back up and up till their eyes are level, lifting J.D. off the ground.

 _Let's go, you know the drill,_

 _I'm hot and pissed_

J.D. wraps her arms around Valiant's neck.

[J.D.] _I'm on the pill._

[Valiant] _Then bow down to the will of a dead boy walking!_

Valiant carries J.D. towards the bed and lays her down. Eyes locked and with him over her, Valiant remembers something he meant to say. I'll probably be dead by Monday so I'll say it now Valiant figured. He starts to caress her cheek with right hand.

 _And you know, you know, you know,_

 _It's 'cause you're beautiful._

 _You say you're numb inside,_

 _But I can't agree._

 _So the world's unfair,_

 _Keep it shut out there._

Valiant pulls his hand away to gesture to the curtains. As far as he would care, those curtains could hold back all the woes and evils of the world and they could love each other for as long as those curtains stayed close. He returned his right hand to her face and then added his left hand to caressing the back of her shoulder and slowly pulling her up to his face.

 _In here its beautiful._

 _Let's make this beautiful!_

With a quick glance to the mighty curtains, J.D. looked deep into Valiant's eyes and smiled, "That works for me."

The two embraced with a long kiss and make out, slowly stripping J.D. of her nightwear and Valiant of his underpants and socks. With only sheets and each others naked flesh to safeguard each other from the elements, J.D. laid down and with Valiant upright. Once Valiant swiftly dons his condom and casting the wrapper down to the floor, they engage in coitus.

 _Yeah! Full steam ahead!_

 _Take this dead boy walking!_

[J.D.] _How did you find my address?_

[Valiant] _Let's break the bed,_

 _Rock this dead boy walking!_

[J.D.] _I think you tore my mattress._

Valiant lowers himself down to her.

[Valiant] _No more sleep tonight for you,_

 _Better chug that Mountain Dew!_

[J.D.] Okay, okay.

[Valiant] _Time to shift a gear._

[J.D.] _Let's make this town disappear!_

[Valiant] Okay, okay.

[J.D.] _Slap me,_

[Valiant] _Pull my hair_

[Both] _Touch me there and there and there._

Valiant clasps his hands over J.D.'s face.

[Valiant] _But no more talking!_

[J.D.] Whoa, whoa! Hey, hey!

Yeah, yeah!

[Both] _Love this dead boy…_

Valiant returned to the intercourse and held his hands down on the bed, each one flanking J.D.s head.

[J.D.] Whoa, whoa! Hey, hey! Wait, wait!

[Valiant] _Love this dead boy…_

[Both] _Yeah!_

 _Yeah!_

 _Yeah!_

[J.D.] Ow!

[Both] _Yeah!_

The night closed with a night of many firsts for Valiant. His first alcoholic party. His first act of vandalism. His first alcoholic throw-up. His first hangover. And the great big popping cherry on top.


	5. Bleach, Bombers and BRRRRRRRING!

"...Valiant..."

The naked boy stirred before opening his eyes to the sight of a resting J.D. Holy shit, it was real he thought. He actually slept with her, that night was not a dream.

"...Valiant..."

He never recalled her being a ventriloquist though, her lips didn't move...and her voice came from the foot of the bed...and sounded like a dude.

"Valiant!"

"Gah!" Valiant gasped as he turned to the foot of the bed to see a cross-armed Henry Chandler flanked by Henry and McNamara and Duke. "How the hell did you get in here?"

"Valiant, I'm like oxygen, I am everywhere!" Henry Chandler responded with his typical smug egotism. "So, going horn dog on that weird psycho chick of all girls? I should have known." Chandler turned on his heels, "Well no matter, once word gets out that the good Prince Valiant of Westerburg High School is sticking pork in the damaged goods section, everyone will know you as a dirty pervert!"

Valiant cradled his head, "Why? Why do you want to hurt me so much?"

Chandler spun back around and slammed his hands on the bed, "Because I can. And its very fun." He retorted before chanting the word "Very".

"Very."

"Very."

The other Henrys started to echo Henry Chandler's chant. Suddenly, more people, fellow students started to crawl out of the darkness of the room and surround the bed with chants alongside the Henrys. Head buried into his knees, Valiant screams.

J.D. sits upright and hits her bedroom lights on, the students banished with the darkness the crept from. "What? What!? What's wrong?" J.D. asked in confusion before reaching over to hug Valiant into silence. As Valiant stops his screams, she comments, "You are soaked."

Pale and panting, Valiant looks around for the fictitious student chanters. "Thank God it was a dream." he sighs. With a moments pause, he throw the bed cover back and rushes to don his clothes.

"Hey, where are you going in such a rush?" J.D. questioned, leaning over to him from her bed.

"Uumm, I…I have to go to Henry's". Valiant answered, fitting his underpants and socks on first before reaching for his t-shirt. With his underwear on, he slipped off his used condom discretely before stuffing it back into its disposed wrapper and folding the contents shut. This will need to go in a can when he gets out Valiant figured.

"Why?" J.D. pressed, "You said last night that you were done with Henry."

"And frankly, I wish that was true. Reality sucks, that's why athletic men wear cups!" Valiant sighed before pulling up his pants. "It's morning and if I were a sane man, which last I checked I was, I'm going to have to kiss his cross-fit ass till he forgives me."

He looked pitiful J.D. figured. What happened to the suave bravado of the man she just fucked? For a guy named Valiant, he sure seems stuck being a submissive purse puppy to that Chandler ass hole. If only he could live free from that Henry. If only all he said that night was true.

"Let me come with you." J.D. requested, fishing her own clothes from the side of the bed.

Valiant stopped fixing his shoes at the side of the bed, "Really?"

"Yeah you know, for back up. Besides, do you even know where you are even going from here?" J.D. asked after throwing on her top.

Valiant paused before fitting his shoes on, "Ok. Thanks." he said, a small smile forming in his mouth as he stood up to get his jacket. Getting humiliated by Henry Chandler was going to suck no matter if Joslyn would be there to watch or not, at least the walk over will be more pleasant with someone to talk to instead of having the company of yourself and a paranoid daydreaming mind.

Valiant straightened himself up and with J.D.s mirror tried to smooth down the bed head. He didn't have gel but if he could look presentable enough, maybe Chandler will be generous enough to look over his blemishes as just the curse of hangovers.

With the pair dressed, they hugged and gave a kiss before walking out of J.D.s room.

The walk to Henry's started mostly quiet, with Valiant making the odd turn and J.D. pointing him elsewhere to help him understand where he is. Eventually encountering the street Henry Chandler lived on Valiant stopped and the foot of the road and started to inhale and exhale deeply. The moment of stillness arose a question from J.D.

"Why Valiant?"

"Huh?" Valiant turned, completely distracted from his attempt at calming, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, why did your folks call you Valiant? Isn't that a surname?" J.D. pondered aloud.

Valiant chuckled, "Yeah, blame my mom for that one." he explained before walking down the road, shoulders now less tense than before. "When she was young, she had this weird crush on an old newspaper comic character named "Prince Valiant". When the last full page issue of the series ended due to the creator's death, mom and dad got together. She found out she was pregnant, figured out the coincidental timing and when the doctor told her, "it's a boy", she insisted on calling her little Prince "Valiant"."

J.D. smiled, "Well that's just adorable." she cooed as the two walked up to the door of Henry Chandler's house.

Valiant nodded, "I can't complain, in terms of names, it beats Garfield, Dennis or Beetle!". Turning to the front door, he knocked.

J.D. whispered, "Do you think his parents will let us in?"

Valiant quickly replied, "No. Both workaholics. Very distant. Spoils him from afar."

The front door swings open with a freakish sight. A man with cucumbers for eyes, face painted white dress in a short red lounge robe swings the door open with a snarling, "What?"

J.D. and Valiant's eyes widen before Valiant responds, "I-It's Valiant Henry, I've came to make my apology."

Henry pulled his cucumbers off and opened his eyes, looking at him up and down with a wicked glare, "Well for your sake, there better be knee pads on under those pants." he warned before turning and walking back into the house. He shouted, "Hurry and fix me up a prairie oyster, I'm more compassionate when I got a drink in me!"

With that, Valiant tepidly stepped inside and headed for the kitchen, J.D. following behind after closing the door. In her saunter she saw the elaborate nature of the Chandler residence. Pristine art pieces hanged around the home with gently beeping tech of prototype automations sweeping through the house. She backed her way into the kitchen to see Valiant opening various shelves and drawers for the ingredients and utensils.

"Ok, going to need a raw egg, vinegar-" Valiant muttered aloud.

"Worcester hot sauce, salt and pepper." J.D. added.

"Wow, you know your hangover remedies." Valiant added with a look of surprise.

"Mom taught me all sorts of things, that was one of the tamer lessons." she explained before pulling out some of the ingredients she could find to bring to Valiant.

Whisking up the ingredients, Valiant investigates the cup to see everything mixed in, "You think he'll notice a spit take in this? Knocking his ego down a peg would be nice."

"Why knock down trash when you can knock it out entirely with some nice clean bleach?" J.D. responds, pulling the bottle of bleach in the open cabinet under the sink to present to Valiant.

"Don't be ridiculous, that would kill him." Valiant explained setting the prepared cup aside to create another identical cup of prairie oyster.

"Thus nipping the hangover problem in the bud, clorox it is!" J.D. decreed as she unscrews the cap.

"Are you crazy, you can't just-" Valiant looked to her and paused. Was she being serious, did she really suggest just killing someone? She's pulling a joke right? A joke going too far? Yeah, she just has a dark sense of humor.

"Besides" Valiant chuckled, playing her suggestion off as a joke before returning to making the new hangover cocktail. "Henry is not stupid enough to drink straight from that bottle anyway".

"Which is why we take this cup, and pour." J.D. explained, demonstrating by pouring some of the bleach into the first cup of prairie oyster.

Valiant looks over to J.D. and places down the clean cup of prairie oyster. "You are not funny, you know that?" he stated with a raised eyebrow.

"Ah don't go chicken on me El Pollo Loco." she teased before resting her poisoned cup onto the table and bringing Valiant down for a kiss. The two hold each other as they kissed, Valiant forgetting about the cups momentarily until-

"Prairie oyster. NOW!" Henry roared from his bedroom.

The beckoning caused Valiant to snap back to reality and he quickly snatches the closest of the two cups, the bleached prairie oyster and rushes towards the kitchen door, J.D., noticing the error calls out, "Wait!"

Valiant halts at the door way and turns, "What is it?" he asks.

"You-" she starts yet the words won't come out. No, she wouldn't let them come out. The chance to tear this jerk away from Valiant, from society. She couldn't let the world turn over in its sleep again. Her father's death meant nothing to this sick world. Maybe this rich boy needs to go to set things right.

"...good luck." She cheered with a thumbs up, Valiant gave a smile to her before rushing to Henry. J.D. started to follow at a distance, she would have to be ready to console him. He's too naive to take manslaughter in stride she deduced.

"Morning Henry" Valiant greeted with a Stepford smile.

"Ah Valiant. I noticed you brought a short Jesse James with you here." Henry Chandler remarked, "Well then, start begging." he ordered, chin raised to add to the power dynamic of the room.

"Henry please, we both said things that I am sure we regre-" Valiant pleaded.

"Actually, on your knees. Beg down there!" Henry ordered with a smile on his face as Valiant obliged.

"Look Henry, I am really so-" Valiant began to plead again before Henry spoke again.

"Call your Hooker of the wild west here too. I want her to see you grovel." Henry sneered as he stepped closer towards the kneeling Valiant.

"I'm already here." J.D. responded, leaning at Henry's bedroom door frame with a fierce glare at Henry.

"Good, then you may continue." Henry flippantly said.

Valiant bowed his head and presented the cup outwards with one final, "Please forgive me Henry Chandler."

Henry looked down at the kneeling boy and smirked, "Cute, but you are still dead to me." and snatched the cup from Valiant's hands, unaware of J.D.s glare shifting into a wry smile.

Sitting back at his bed, Henry down the cup's contents. Raw egg, vinegar, Worcester hot sauce, salt, pepper.

And bleach.

The bleach hit Henry Chandler quick as he started a hacking cough. Valiant looks up to witness the commanding Henry fall head first into the floor as his insides eat him. Valiant rushes over to Henry.

"Corn...nuts!" Henry Chandler coughs out, his last words before collapsing all together, the murderous cocktail burning away in his stomach line.

Valiant looks up and J.D. "Jesus Christ don't just stand there! Call 9-1-1!" he panicked.

J.D. paced over to the corpse and checked his neck for a heart beat, she shook her head, "It's too late for that. He's dead." she said with grim earnest.

Valiant's eyes widen as he starts to shake the corpse in a violent panic, "Henry! HENRY! Henry wake up! Joke's over, you can wake now! Wake up! Henry!" With no response beyond the killer drink spilling down the dead boy's chin, Valiant drops the corpse and looks at it, the revelation slowly sinks in. "Oh. My. God. I JUST KILLED MY BEST FRIEND!"

"Don't you mean your worst enemy?" J.D. corrected as she stood over him.

"Same difference." He replies, pointing at the corpse right in front of him. "The police are going to think its murder. Fuck, manslaughter is still going to have my ass pounded to prison! Oh God, my SAT scores are going to San Quinton!"

"But if this was a suicide..." J.D. explained, gently placing a copy of Goethe's "The Sorrows of Young Werther" she fished from Henry's rather immaculate showy book cabinet.

Valiant looked at the book, The Sorrows of Young Werther was an infamous story for it being seen as the cause of an influx of copycat suicides. The act of copycat suicides were even named after the book's protagonist Werther for its notoriety. "Oh no" Valiant responded.

J.D. kneeled down beside him and nodded, "Oh yes. Fake a suicide note. You know his handwriting, just give him something deep like, 'I was trapped in a triangle, like Werther's love, life was more of a loner'."

"With my unyielding boner." Valiant added before entering a laugh, a hysterical laugh. Boner. What a riot! Ah wow, that is hilarious! That was hilarious, I should tone it down now he thought. Well that laugh was a good feeling, wonder what the joke was abou-

"Oh God, I murdered him!" Valiant panicked upon looking down at the corpse again.

J.D. sighed, "This is serious, if you don't do something, you'll be going to jail!"

"Right well, Henry would never understand the plight of Werther ok, he flunked comparatives on his essay tests".

"Then its a badge for his failures at school, work with me here." J.D. insisted before grabbing a nearby notebook and pen to hand to Valiant. "Think long and hard, try to conjure up what he would say as his dying words. What are his final words to this cold, unfeeling planet?"

Besides corn nuts? Oh boy, Valiant thought, he was going to turn an egotist who would have peaked at high school into some tragic literary figure. Flicking the notebook open, Valiant started to scribe, reading aloud:

[Valiant] _"Dear World,_

 _Believe it or not, I knew about fear,_

 _I knew the way loneliness stung._

 _I hid behind smiles and scented colognes_

 _I learned to kiss girls with my tongue."_

[J.D.] That's good

[Valiant] _"But oh, the world, it held me down,_

 _it weight like a concrete prom king crown."_

Before Valiant's eyes, a faint specter resembling Henry Chandler rose from his corpse. Glancing over to J.D., he noticed she continued to look at his note. Valiant proceeded to write, watching his written words come to like through the ghost before him.

[Henry Chandler] _No one thinks a dashing boy has feelings,_

 _No one gets his insecurity._

 _I am more than fine muscles and hair gel,_

 _No one sees the me inside of me._

Jesus, you're making me sound like Air Supply.

"Keep going, this needs to be good enough to fool the cops." J.D. insisted, Valiant closed his eyes away from Henry's apparition and finished the suicide note and tossed onto the bed before he and J.D. fled.

As the day trawled on, police officers start to investigate the uncharacteristically silent Chandler household. Making their way into Henry's bedroom, the crime scene is discovered.

"Whoa! Is this a murder?" An officer asks.

"No, look. Here's a suicide note." Another responds, summoning her colleague to the bed. The officers read it aloud, echoing the words of Valiant and the lingering ghost of Henry Chandler.

[Cops, Valiant & Chandler] _"They couldn't see past my rockstar mystique,_

 _They wouldn't dare look in my eyes._

 _But just underneath was a terrified boy,_

 _Who clings to his pillow and cries!_

 _Persona to seal my heart shut,_

 _Like Werther's shot, it pierced my gut."_

[Chandler] Werther _'s_ shot, nice.

Monday arises, the faculty are approached by the police concerning Henry Chandler, the police even hand a copy of Henry's "suicide note" to Principal Gowan to read with Henry Chandler's ghost looking on:

[Cops, Valiant & Chandler] _"No one thinks a dashing boy has substance,_

 _That's the curse of popularity."_

[Principal Gowan] _"My love's worth more than some handjobs."_

[Cops, Valiant, Chandler & Gowan] _"No one sees the me inside of me."_

A faculty meeting is called with Coach Ripper, Principal Gowan and Mr Fleming all discussing the suicide note.

"I'm telling you Principal Gowan, Henry's no ordinary suicide case. You should cancel classes" she argues.

"Out of the question, the switchboard will light up like a Christmas tree if I did that." Principal Gown responded.

Mr Fleming slammed his hand down over the note, "Our children are dying. I suggest we get everyone into the cafeteria and just talk, feel and be together."

Principal Gowan massaged the bridge of her nose before sighing, "Yes, thank you Mr Fleming. Please call me once the shuttle lands."

"I am serious." Mr Fleming declared, pulling the note up, "Henry Chandler was misjudged by all of us. This note is perhaps the loveliest suicide note I will ever read." He then straightened the note out and began to read it aloud alongside the echos of Henry's ghost

[Fleming & Henry Chandler] _"Box up my clothing for Goodwill,_

 _And give the poor my Nordic Track._

 _Donate my car to crippled kids,_

 _or to those deadbeat dads on crack._

 _Give them my hats and my CDs,_

 _my trainers, my gel, my three TVs!"_

[All faculty & Henry] " _No one thinks a dashing boy has feelings,_

 _but I weep for all I failed to be._

 _Maybe I can help the world by leaving,_

 _Maybe that's the me inside of me."_

"Aw to Hell with it!" Principal Gowan curses before announcing through the intercom, "Long weekend for everybody!" to the cheers of staff and the recently arriving students.

Mr Fleming quickly rounds the students into the cafeteria, "Not so fast kids. They need to refuel the buses so we have a solid half-hour of healing!" he said, hand out copies to each of the students, "I made copies so we can all feel Henry's anguish".

Henry McNamara looks down at the note in shock,

[Henry McNamara] _I never knew about his pain_

He gasped, a lump presses down into Henry McNamara's stomach, a feeling too foreign for him to continue speaking.

[Mr Fleming] Yes, go on!

Mr Fleming insisted to the students, sporting a rally between the students impulsive conclusions and Mr Fleming's words on encouragement.

[Hipster girl] _His life had hit a dead end!_

[Mr Fleming] Feel!

[Young Republican] _Deep down, he wasn't cruel or vain -_

[Mr Fleming] Heal!

[All Kids] _He didn't mean to be such a bellend!_

"Valiant, you're very quiet" Mr Fleming pondered, "What is on your mind?"

Valiant straightened up to the addressing. Oh god, more improvising he screamed internally. Hands tense against his knees, he stammered, "W-well, perhaps Henry realized that power wasn't making him happy and the only way he could think to surrender it was...death."

[Mr Fleming] _My God,_

 _Look what we've done._

 _We're breaking through!_

 _Henry would be so proud of you!_

[Kids] _And you! And you!_

 _And you! And you!_

[All] _No one thinks a dashing boy can touch you…_

[New Wave boy] Henry touching me…

The ghost of Henry Chandler appears before the signing student body, rolling his eyes before slowly listening to all of his newly gained praise. The moment warmed the specter's cold essence for however fleeting the moment would be.

[All] _But he's made us better from within._

 _Henry's dead, but he will live inside me,_

 _And I'll be the me inside of him…_

[Henry Chandler] Holy Crap! This is awesome!

[All] _Henry cried, our sins fell on his shoulders!_

[Henry Chandler] Jesus Christ!

[All] _Henry died, so we could all be free!_

[Henry Chandler] I'm bigger than Debbie Gibson!

[Kids] _Henry's gone, but he will live forever!_

 _He's the dove that sings outside my window!_

 _He's the twin from whom_

 _I'm separated!_

 _He's the horse I never got for Christmas!_

[All] _Henry sees the me inside of me!_

 _Henry is the me inside of me!_

 _Inside of...me!_

With the long weekend in effect, Valiant and J.D. sit around at J.D.s house, watching the television. It was either that or listen to the radio stations blare "Teenage suicide" over and over, a song Valiant grew sick of quickly after the school P.A. system dismissed classes to the tune of it.

To Valiant's chagrin unfortunately, all the television channels seem to be covering the same thing. An interview with Henry Duke all about Henry Chandler in light of his suicide going public.

"At times like these, people choose to focus on their grief." the televised Henry Duke stated, who appear even broader chested than usual. Valiant chalked it up to the T.V's unflattering aspect ratio. "Well, I despise those kinds of people. For you see, I am an optimist and I still remember the good old times like when Henry and I got our first tattoos at the mall."

J.D. rolled her eyes and switched channels to, more Henry Duke.

"I can still hear our late night phone conversations." Henry smiled, prompting J.D. to switch channels again. This time to a Spanish channel with Henry Duke being dubbed over with an awkward emphasis on every proper noun.

"Podría contarte muchas historias sobre mi tiempo con mi mejor amigo Henry Chandler. Como esta una vez cuando fuimos de compras para Corn Nuts-" the dubbed Henry Duke recited.

"Gah, just switch it off!" Valiant snapped. J.D. quickly hit the power button and cut off Henry Duke.

The front door then opened, J.D. jumped from her seat and tried to turn away from the husky woman walking in. "Young lady, I didn't hear you come in." J.D. said, cutting her mother, Bertha, off.

"Hi mom, how was work today?" the broad waisted woman remarked before tossing a pack of beer on the chair just opposite Valiant and she crashed onto it, "It was dreadful. Some damn tribe of withered old farts is protesting against me blasting some rundown hotel. All because The Boswell Sisters took a crap in there!" She cracked open a can in her hand and swigged it. "It's fucking Kansas all over again! You remember Kansas?" Bertha asked J.D.

"Mmm, was that the one with the wheat?" J.D. responded.

"Save the Memorial Oak Society" Bertha corrected. "Showed those tree humpers, 30 blocks of C4 explosives strapped to the trunk." she chuckled before chugging the beer down again, catching her eye on the awkwardly sitting Valiant. Smacking her lips she quips, "Gee ma, I almost forgot to introduce you to my boyfriend!"

J.D. sighs, "Valiant, this is my mom, Big Bertha Dean." she introduces, Valiant stands up and straightens himself. Clearing his throat, he extends his hand to Bertha, "Its a pleasure to meet you Ms. Dean." he greeted.

The bulky mare extended a fresh tin of beer to Valiant's empty hand and pulled him down to sit closer to her. J.D. breathes in and breaks the awkward situation, "Why daughter, why don't you invite this young man to stay for dinner?" she suggests, Bertha pointing to J.D. in acknowledgement as she took another swig from her beer and then looking to Valiant as if she had asked.

"We-well, shucks. I'm afraid my dad's cooking a favourite tonight, spaghetti. With extra oregano." Valiant lied, stepping up and away from Ms Dean as he did so with the beer can still in his hand.

"Oh my." J.D. played along, "How nice. Last time I saw my dad was, Texas, am I right mom?" slowly warping her tone to a more vindictive one aimed at Bertha, who stops her drinking, "You remember, big library? Lots of windows? He was waving good-bye to me from them?"

Bertha glared at J.D. and answered "Yes" tersely before returning to her drink.

"Yeah umm..." Valiant placed the beer can down before pacing away to the front door. "I'll see you tomorrow then J.D.?" he asked at the door, J.D. doesn't respond and continues to stare daggers through her mother, Valiant quietly walks out, shutting the door behind him. Walking away, he writes down into his note book:

"Dear Diary,

No matter the circumstances, J.D.'s mom is not speaking at our wedding!"

Barely able to put his feet up from walking back home, Valiant spots the home telephone ringing and picks it up. "Y'ello, Sawyer residence. Valiant speaking." he answers.

"Valiant, I'm at the cemetery. I need your help" the voice of Henry McNamara responded.

"What, why are you...what's going on?" Valiant asked, stumbling over the tens of questions he had on his tongue as a result of Henry's message.

"Just, please hurry over. It's an emergency!"McNamara pleaded. Valiant paused. McNamara wasn't one for really asking help, let alone ones of great urgency. He tried to keep big smiles to ever feel troubled enough to ask for help. That said, with Henry Chandler reported to have committed suicide, maybe something snapped. Or something is about to snap. And at a cemetery of all places?

"Ok, I'm heading over, see you there Henry!" Valiant declared before slamming the phone down and running straight back out of the house. He hoped, for once, this was something inane like "girl trouble", nothing could top what Valiant has been through before...right?


	6. Blue With Vengeance

Valiant sprinted over to the car with the yellow clad quarterback standing beside it near the cemetery. Despite his improved physique, Valiant still needed to work on long term running. His lungs started to burn as he reached over to Henry.

"Wh-what's up? What's going on?" Valiant panted.

"You're here, super. Look, its Rae and Kate." Henry explained.

Valiant smiled and he straightened up with a large gulp of fresh air. Thank goodness it's only girl trouble!

"The girls, Henry and I were going to pour a jug of thunderbird on Henry's grave. You know, for his homies?" Henry McNamara tried to give a gangster sign or salute or something Valiant could not quite understand. "But the girls got absolutely wasted beforehand and well, Rae's chasing Henry Duke and Kate...you see." Henry stood aside to notice the snoring cheerleader with an open bottle in her hand. "Before she fell asleep, she's been chasing after me with promises of being my "submissive"."

Passing glances at enough of his mother's romance novels knew what that meant, leather clad Henrys wielding whips clouded Valiant's mind before he shook them out and asked, "But why did you call me? Considering I basically tarnished the Henry title, I would have thought you'd have a list of far more qualified drunk girl wranglers than me."

"Ah see, that's the thing. Before she took her nap, Kate said she would spare me if she could get you instead." Henry stated bluntly with a smile.

"Right, so you got out of date rape by press-ganging me into date rape?" Valiant spat, staring into the quarterback's eyes, Henry looks away.

"Well, when you put it like that, it sounds awful." Henry admitted.

"Going home now!" Valiant declared as he turned his heels and walked off, unfortunately he couldn't get far enough before Kate woke up and opened the door.

"Hiiiiiiiiiii, Liiiiiant!" Kate slurred as she stumbled out of Henry's car with bottle in hand. "I've been waiting 10 whole beers for you." Kate stumbles towards Valiant with Henry McNamara quickly taking over Kate's seat and slamming the car door shut.

Valiant steps away from Kate as she collapses face first into the cemetery grass. In the distance, Valiant hears Henry Duke and Rae Sweeney coming.

"Enough Rae, I told you, you cannot feel up my pecs!" Henry Duke shouted as he stomped back to the car with Rae following behind him. Henry Duke knocks on the opposite car door, "Henry, the door!" he ordered, Henry McNamara unlocks it and swiftly the green coated Henry enters the car, sits and locks the door next to him.

"No." Rae whines as she slams herself on the car bonnet, "Don't leave me! Your pecs are too big to hoard, you gotta share or, they'll like weigh you down and that would mean you need to wear a bra and that- that's just not right." Rae looks up to see Valiant on the opposite end of the car, looking over Kate, "Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiant!" she slurs.

Well, shit. Entertaining the girls alone? Valiant has dealt with them before but never alone, and while they were drunk. Frankly, the only person with the charm and skill to tame both of these tipsy cheerleaders would be Henry Cha-

God Dammit.

As Kate started to climb back to her feet, Valiant sighed, "Come on girls, you got spare hands, use them." he gestured with both hands a flicking motion as he spoke.

"Aww, why you gotta be so mean to them?" Rae asked as she close in on Valiant with Kate.

"You gotta stop hurting their feelings." Kate added, slumping up next to Valiant before he gently placed her against the car instead and backing away.

"Who?" Valiant asked.

[Rae] _You make your balls so blue!_

[Kate] _You hurt them badly._

[Rae] _You make your balls so blue._

[Kate] _They're hanging sadly._

Kate leans in closer to look at Valiant's crotch. The blustered teen covers over them and steps away from the cheerleaders.

[Rae] _What did they do to you,_

 _That you hate them so?_

As Valiant turns around to run, both girls each grab one of Valiant's arms and cling onto them as they slump like dead weights.

[Kate] _Don't run from me –_

 _They need our cheers,_

[Both] _Like a quarterback party!_

I need to leave this girls with Henry and Henry Valiant thought before turning around and dragging them back to the car.

[Kate] _They long for my embrace!_

[Rae] _They're warm like mittens!_

When Rae tries to grope Valiant's crotch, he instinctively shakes the drunk girl off and marches on without Rae.

[Rae] _They'll curl up on my face,_

[Kate] _And purr like kittens!_

Like her cheer partner, Kate tries to grope Valiant and is thrown off, this time with Valiant shoving her off his arm with his free arm as he heads for the car door alone. He'll just have to hide in the car with the Henrys till they blackout he figured.

[Kate] _You make your balls so blue!_

[Both] _Just look at them glow…_

[Rae] _They're begging us to,_

[Both] _Make them not so blue._

Valiant reaches for the car's nearest door handle and pulls, only to be met with the locking mechanism's resistance. "Henry...Henry...open the door!" Valiant requests, watching the boys shake their heads to him.

[Henry Duke & Henry McNamara] _Oh no, oh no no no!_

A pause of shock leads Valiant to more violently pull at the door, smacking the top of the car for attention. "Open the fricking door!" he cusses.

[Henry Duke & Henry McNamara] _Oh no, oh no no no!_

Like shambling lust zombies, the girls close in on Valiant as he continues his plight to get in the car. As he starts to lean over the bonnet to gesture the Henrys into letting him in, the girls get more touchy.

[Kate] _You make your balls so blue,_

 _Let's please say hello!_

[Rae] _Hold 'em!_

[Kate] _Enfold 'em,_

[Both girls] _And never let go!_

Hearing the girls so close to him, Valiant swiftly jumps and slides over the top of the car bonnet, sadly his unplanned escape leads him to fall on the opposite side of the car face first with Rae and Kate closing in by climbing over the bonnet.

[Kate] _Once you were nerdy and geeky,_

[Rae] _but we knew, you're freaky._

Valiant flips onto his back to see the girls slowly crawling and tries to pull back.

[Kate] _We've set them on fire,_

[Both girls] _Whatever they desire, we'll do!_

Both girls fall down on top of Valiant's legs and start to grab at them and call their way up to his testicles. Valiant starts trying to pull away with kicks and dragging, slowly reaching the back of the car.

 _We'll take 'em home to meet our parents!_

[Rae] _They'll wear a suit and tie,_

[Kate & Henrys] _And a fancy collar._

Valiant catches a glance of Henry Duke in the window gesturing with his jacket collar as he sings along with the girls. Was this his doing? Was this all some scheme as revenge for showing them up? Of course it was Valiant concluded, those ass holes are going to pay at school, mark his words. First things first though, he'd need his legs back.

[Rae] _They'll sing a lullaby,_

[Kate and Rae] La la la la la!

 _Let's make those balls not blue,_

[Rae] _A boy like you,_

[Kate] _Can't honestly refuse,_

[Rae & Kate] _Two hot girls begging,_

 _Your balls free from blues._

Something bumps against Valiant's arm as it clinks to the ground. Looking over his shoulder, he sees two untouched bottles of beer. How did they miss that? Maybe they forgot when chasing the Henrys Valiant wagered.

Snagging the bottles with one hand, he holds them out away from the car, "Look, booze! Go fetch!"

The girls jump off from his legs and scramble to snag each a bottle of the beer, "Aw, thank you so much!" Kate smiled as she and Rae started to open and chug.

Valiant stood back up and brushed off and walked back round the car. Rae starts to follow Valiant around the car as both the girls hoist themselves up on it.

[Rae] _We will protect you,_

[Kate] _Defend you,_

[Rae] _Respect you,_

[Kate] _Befriend you -_

[Rae] _We're tellin' the truth!_

[Henrys] _Telling the truth._

Valiant slightly jumps as he notices Rae coming from behind him and rushes straight to the front of the car, watching the two girls make their way towards him and the laughing ass holes in the car chime in on the girls' singing every now and then.

[Kate] _Baby baby baby, they're so blue!_

[Rae] _Let's work those balls for you,_

[Kate] _We will obey ya_

[Rae] _Give your sword some magic too,_

[Both girls & Henrys] _Like Hawk the Slayer!_

[Girls] _Baby, you gots to come through,_

[Kate] _We'll teach them to smile!_

[Rae & Henrys] _You got no clue,_

 _How much those two,_

 _Depend on you,_

 _Please help them through!_

[Girls (Henrys)] _Those balls are in our(/their) court!_

[Girls] Yeah!

The girls start to reach out to Valiant and grasp at him, too panicked to turn back and run, Valiant bobs and weaves around the girls' grabbing attempts.

 _You make your balls so blue!_

 _You make your balls so blue!_

 _You make your balls so blue!_

At once, the girls once again grab Valiant's arms. Losing patience, Valiant violently throws both the girls off of him to each side of the car and starts to climb straight up on the car bonnet.

Ow! Ow!

[Henrys] _You make those balls so blue!_

With little hesitation, the girls clamber back to the feet and lean over the bonnet to catch sight and maybe grasp of Valiant's testicles.

[Girls] _You make your balls so blue!_

[Henrys] _You make your balls so blue!_

 _You shake them,_

 _You quake them,_

[Girls] Good God!

[Henrys] _You break –_

[Girls] Them balls!

 _You make your balls so blue!_

Valiant stepping around the grasping hands reaches towards the top of the car and sit there, the girls move up the car to keep in parralel with him at each side of the car. Valiant presses his legs together and clenches his hands over his knees. Eyes shut tight, begging for this all to end. From the front window of the car, the Henrys lean over and look up at Valiant with grins and smirks.

[Henrys] _You make your balls so blue!_

 _You take them,_

[Kate] Lookit!

[Rae] Lookit!

[Kate] Lookit!

[Rae] Lookit!

[Henrys] _You bake them,_

 _Chrissake –_

[Girls and Henrys] _You make your balls so blue!_

 _Please make your dreams come true,_

 _And make those balls not blue!_

With the passing of what felt like a hellish eternity, the girls black out. Seeing an opening, Valiant leapt from the car bonnet and started to make a mad dash home.

Slamming the front door shut behind him, heavy breaths pushed out of his body before a hearty sigh. Valiant walked up to his room and collapsed on his bed. Today was really making him start to detest Mondays.

Oh goody, he was becoming Garfield, Valiant groaned. as he raised his hands to massage his head, he saw his notebook and pen poking out of his letterman jacket pocket. Drawing it out, he opened it up to today's page and, under the remark concerning his future marriage with J.D., he continued:

"Close call tonight! Henry McNamara and Henry Duke set me up on a date rape with Rae and Kate at the graveyard. It seems to be that Henry Chandler was the only one in Westerburg who could actually control Kate and Rae...and he's dead."

Valiant closed the book, noticing someone laying over him. Naked legs, red robe, weird dripping sensation on Valiant's forehead. He looked up to lock eyes with the ghost of Henry Chandler.

"Aw, having second thoughts on murdering me are we?" the ghost wailed.

Valiant jumped from his bed and passed through the translucent Henry, looking back, Valiant watched the ghost lie down on Valiant's bed and taunt him, "Well if you want to make an apology to me, you should consider fixing up a prairie oyster for yourself. Raw egg, vinegar, Worcester hot sauce, salt, pepper oh, and BLEACH!" he hissed. Valiant looked away and tried to think of other things.

He didn't kill Henry. Technically. He knew it wasn't murder deep down, it was manslaughter at worst. Not that that allowed poor Valiant to forgive himself. He felt bad about the whole thing yet, the more it dwelled inside him, the more that guilty lump seemed to evaporate into smoke. A dense smoke that felt like it would choke him to death in the long run, only making Valiant feel worse about the whole thing again.

Henry eventually liberated Valiant from his presence, allowing the stressed teenager to return to his bed and sleep his trouble off for school when it reconvened. He had other things to think about than dwelling on the ancient past of 2 days ago, like dwelling on the ancient past of 2 hours ago. Henry McNamara and Henry Duke owed him an apology tomorrow.

Valiant woke up exhausted, his body may had rested but his mind was a mess. Waking up constantly throughout the night to the sounds of Henry Chandler spouting abuse at his haunted killer. Chandler seemed to mercifully leave Valiant alone for most of the morning to allow the boy to get to school in one mental piece. Between classes, he dispensed some books into his locker and caught a glance at Henry McNamara and Henry Duke picking at a locker, Henry Chandler's.

Shutting his locker, Valiant sauntered over to the Henrys and sniped, "Hey boys, I seem to be short one apology from two shit heels last night, mind paying up?"

Henry Duke glanced over and opened up Henry Chandler's locker before looking back at its contents, "We're cleaning out Henry's locker here, some respect if you don't mind."

Valiant saw Henry's ghost walk out of the open locker and through Henry Duke, turning around to point at him, "Get a load of this little poser." he remarked before watching Duke rummage through Chandler's contents, his many self portraits torn off the door and walls. "Hey Valiant. Tell Henry to stop touching my stuff." he barked, Valiant closes his eyes pretends to not listen, "Valiant? Valiant!"

"Shut up Henry!" Valiant snapped.

"No, you shut up!" Henry Duke shouted, slamming his fist into the opened door of Henry Chandler's locker. He glares at the big self portrait of Henry Chandler still in the locker and starts to rant into it. "Ever since we were 'friends', I've been nothing to you but some toadie to fan your Almighty ego. You didn't want me to say shit, even if I tried to confide in you my own weaknesses, you mock me! Well I've recovered without anyone's help. I turned that muscular hypertrophy into a strength, while you just killed yourself like the selfish messiah you always wanted to be! And now-"

Henry Duke reached into the locker and pulled out a red neck tie, "Now I'm in charge of this school Henry!" he declared, unzipping his letterman to reveal a collared shirt he started to fit it over his head, "And you're just a statistic."

"Kill him!" Henry Chandler ordered impulsively pointing at Henry Duke, "Kill him right fucking now!"

"B-But that's Henry's neck ti-" Henry McNamara started.

"Shut up Henry." Henry Duke rebuked, slamming the locker door shut with his spoils collected, the door however swings ajar after its locking mechanism was knocked out of line by Henry Duke's slammed fist.

"Look, Henry Chandler acted like a jerk to everyone and I'm sorry he didn't help you with your problems." Valiant found himself explaining, focusing away from the bloodthirsty ghost overhead, "I'm sorry WE didn't help your problems, but what do you hope to achieve by mimicking him? You'll end up just driving yourself to suicide and make this shit one big cycle!"

Henry Duke merely scoffed, zipping his jacket up shorter than normal to keep the tie visible, "I wouldn't be wasting my breath on others if I were you, given the state of your reputation right now."

J.D. started to walk by, drinking a cup of Slurpee as she passed, overhearing Henry Duke.

"I hear Kate and Rae has been telling the whole school about your little three way with them last night." Henry Duke sneered, J.D. coughing in response before approaching Valiant.

"T-Three way?" She enquired.

"No! What? There was no three way, nothing happened!" Valiant explained, glanced over Henry Duke's broad shoulders the oncoming cheerleading squad with Rae and Kate strutting ahead of them.

"Oh funny, you say that and yet the girls swore that you-" Henry Duke began before the cheerleading squad stopped short of him. Rae and Kate then interjected:

[Kate & Rae] _Groped two girls all around!_

[Cheer girl 1] _And he advanced it._

[Kate & Rae] _Groped two girls all around!_

[Henry Duke & Henry McNamara] _That sounds perverted!_

Valiant wanted to scream, curl up and shut the curtains on this parade over is cracking ego and unraveling reputation. Valiant started to run the opposite way only for a crowd to start to close in on the singing cheerleaders and trapping him with pointing fingers and judging eyes.

[Kate] _Then he went down south,_

[Rae] _And planted in his flag._

[Kate] _His cute salami,_

[Kate and Rae] _Bent us over like in origami!_

[All] _Whoa, Whoa, Whoa_

 _Wooooooaaaah!_

Valiant covered his mouth, eyes stinging he felt powerless to do anything while trapped in this gaggle of gawking students watched the cheering squad under Henry Duke's direction tear his character into confetti. J.D. tugged at his arm for a hug in a vain attempt to comfort him. Even Henry Chandler's ghost became swept up in the tormenting.

[Kate & Rae] All night long he,

[All] _Groped two girls all around._

[Kate, Rae, Henry Duke, Henry McNamara and Henry Chandler] _Yes we're sure he,_

[All] _Touched where no boy's allowed,_

[Henry McNamara] _He's proved quite freaky._

[Kate and Rae] _He grabbed and squeezed at our boobs_

[All] _Like they were balloons!_

[Kate] _Then he ate us out,_

[Rae] _Like a hearty stew._

[Kate & Rae] _With all his skills, we bet he's a manwhore too…_

[All] _Whoa, whoa…_

Valiant's head sunk, eyes stinging even more as Kate & Rae's lies caused looks of disgust to dwell on him, Henry Duke stepped into the center and pointed straight at the broken boy and sweeps his other hand over to most of the repulsed girls watching:

[Henry Duke] _He'll do the same to you!_

[All] He g _roped not one girl, but two!_

 _Hands stuck to them like glue,_

 _He groped not one girl, but two,_

 _While they were tipsy too!_

Valiant couldn't even keep standing and started to drop to his knees, J.D. gently lowering him to his knees before glaring furiously at Henry Duke and those lying bitches. They spouting bullshit about Valiant and think she's going to stand there and let them? Hell no! She was stomping over to dish out a knuckle sandwich.

[All] _And every word is true,_

 _Valiant groped two!_

[Henry Duke] _Yeeeeahhh!_

J.D. charged through the mocking visage of Henry Chandler and made for a wild hay maker at Rae. Unfortunately, the cheerleader ducked with Kate kicking J.D. in the gut, she doubled over.

Valiant looks over to the fight and starts to plead, "No wait, stop!" but before he could run over, Henry Duke grabs him and stomps on the back of one of Valiant's legs, the pain and sudden force pushing Valiant back down to his knees as he watched the two cheer leaders knock J.D. down and stomp on her profusely.

As he watches, the crowd chants at him, "Freak! Perv! Psycho! Perv! Punk-ass!"

With J.D. down and beaten, Rae walks up to Valiant and spat "Manwhore" before turning around back to the now receding crowd. Kate kicks J.D. once more with a passing, "Hooker" before chasing Rae. Henry Duke throws Valiant down to is hands before walking off. Henry McNamara starts to approach Valiant but hesitates before chasing after Henry Dukes. Valiant watches drops of liquid fall to the floor.

They broke him, he was in tears. And J.D. they hurt her.

Valiant scrambled over towards her and sat her up in his arms, tears still pouring from his face. "Are you ok?" Valiant choked, seeing her face bruised with scrapes everywhere, her right eye squinting from the pain. Her eyes are drawn to the ground, furious.

"What about you?" She asked, looking up to Valiant in despair.

He looked awful. His eyes were swollen with tears as they continued to drip onto his face. He had a forced smile that winced with an unseen pain, "Y-Yeah, s-sorry for the waterworks." he apologized, sitting J.D. up on her knees before wiping his own tears away from his face, giving J.D. a better look at Valiant's not red eyes and the dark black pits beneath them. They tortured him long before now she realized and reaching to cradle her boyfriend's head in her hand, she speaks:

[J.D.] _They made you cry,_

 _But that will end tonight,_

 _You are the only thing that's right,_

 _About this broken world._

J.D. started to feel her own eyes sting from the sight of Valiant. Quickly, she brings his head down to her shoulder and hugs him close.

 _Go on and cry,_

 _But when the morning comes,_

 _We'll burn it down and then,_

 _We'll build the world again…_

 _Our love is God._

Valiant starts to feel wet drops slide down his back and pulls J.D. away to look at her, she was crying too. "Are you ok?" He asked her as the two tearful teens knelt at the empty corridor.

 _I was alone,_

 _I was a frozen lake,_

 _But then you melted me awake,_

 _See, now I'm crying too._

 _You're not alone._

[Valiant] _You're not alone..._

Valiant hugged J.D. close to him and the two slowly started to pull each other up.

[J.D.] _And when the morning comes,_

[Valiant] _When the morning comes…_

[J.D.] _We'll burn away that tear, and raise our city here…_

[Valiant] _Raise our city here…_

The two hug each other as they reach their feet before pulling away, hands holding them together.

[Both] _Our love is God._

With a happy smile on both there faces, Valiant's face turns into devilish grin, "Let's cast some vengeance then. Tonight."

J.D. pauses, "Oh." she responds, "Who on?"

Valiant hesitated, he mostly wanted the Henry Duke to suffer but that felt selfish to him. This was no longer about him. They picked each other up, they were going to have their revenge. With that, there were only 2 candidates worth their revenge.

"Rae Sweeney and Kate Kelly. They threw my name in the mud and beat you up. I say we should ruin them in return, seem fair?" Valiant schemed. He was fed up with playing nice with these people. Perhaps the spectacle had broken more than his pride, perhaps he was just building the same cycle he warned Henry Duke of. Fuck it, Valiant figured. If he can't jump off this burning wagon, he's gonna ride it hard.

A smile curled on J.D.'s lips, "Alright. I think I have an idea." she replies.

Valiant leans in, "Oh tell me more." he requests.

J.D. presses her index and middle finger against Valiant's lips, "Not here, let's wait after school. Your house...I'll bring the tools." she smiled.

Valiant gave her a nod before the two split up for their classes. He could imagine Henry Chandler's ghost giving J.D. and him a stink-eye but to hell with that haughty haunt. Sure, J.D. suggested murdering Henry Chandler, but it was a joke. Alright, it happened, but that was on him, he mixed the cups up. J.D. wouldn't willingly kill anyone. Not if I was around Valiant thought. A puckish high-school prank is not going to be a problem.


	7. Meet Our Love is God-Parents

Sitting on the porch felt odd to the 17 year old Valiant Sawyer, to think this was actually quite a common occurrence for him 10 years ago made him feel a touch nostalgic. Like any kid, Valiant was good at heart, he just liked to play up every now and then, and like any naughty child he was punished, by sitting on the front step to the house.

His mom often would warn him to not try sneaking away just because he thought she was not watching yet on every occasion he did sneak away to play ball with Martin or go running with Betty, mom would never reprimand him. That must be why mom changed my punishment to being grounded in my room when I hit my teens Valiant guessed.

Ah man, Betty Finn. Now there was a childhood crush that ended poorly. She loved running, made sense she'd join the girl's track team when they both entered Westerburg High. Unfortunately, Valiant held the question too long. By the time he could confess his long burning feelings for her, she had moved on from him and rejected his date. Valiant was too heart-broken to even know who she went with over him. Valiant wondered if Betty's boyfriend was as high up as the Henrys, hell he wondered if she regretted dumping him when word got out that Valiant was one with the Henrys. At least he still hung around with Martin.

Wait, shit Valiant cursed, I've been meaning to explain to him what the deal was with the party on Friday. He could probably guess now though, given that with Henry Chandler dead and the other Henry's dropping Valiant like a wet lump that his friendship with the Henrys turned sour. Come to think of it, where was Martin? Valiant would have though Martin would have tried to console him after school today, yet Valiant couldn't even find him. Had Martin dumped him too?

Henry Chandler was right, not even the social losers want to hang out with an ex-somebody like Valiant it seemed.

Raising his head, Valiant spotted J.D. making her way across the road to the house. He springs to his feet and rushes over to her. "Were you fixing your make up, my ass was hurting sitting out there waiting." He joked as he held her hand to walk her to his house.

J.D. adjusted the bag straps that hanged on her other shoulder before replying, "Hey, I'm not the one that make friends with human peacocks." Valiant smirked and leaned over to catch a glance at the contents of J.D.s bag, the trench-coated girl holds it tight to her, "No no, let's wait until we get somewhere private." she ordered, holding up her gripped hand to wag her finger at him.

Valiant halted at the door and paused, oh man. Showing J.D. to his folks, a girl wearing less make-up than their son and looks like one of "those rocker types" mom would always warn me about whenever I went to a concert. Wait, why don't we go round the back and just climb up to his room he thought, worked wonders for him before. Yeah, that's it, he'll ju-

J.D. pressed the home doorbell as Valiant returned to reality, she looks up at him "Nervous?" she asked.

"Well-" Valiant responded before the door opened.

"Valiant, why did you ring the door? You can just come in." His dad answered, "bring your little friend with you, you know your mom will want to see her."

As they walked inside, Valiant tried to interject, "Err actually dad, we were planning to just go u-"

"Honey! Valiant's brought himself a girlfriend!" Valiant's dad shouted into the kitchen.

"He's what?" A distant mom responded before loud clattering sounds and hurried steps leads the older woman out of the kitchen to the living room to see Valiant and J.D. "Oh. Why hello there."

"Mom, dad, this is Joslyn, Josyln Dean. She is my girlfriend." Valiant introduced.

"I usually just go by J.D. It's a pleasure to me you Mr and Mrs Sawyer" J.D. greeted, pulling her hand off of Valiant and stretching it over to Valiant's parents.

"Oh I'm so glad you are my son's girlfriend." Valiant's mom said, shaking J.D.s hand, "I mean, I always told him to stay away from those rocker girl types, but you seem so nice."

"Mom please." Valiant chuckled, hoping to stop his mom gushing. Though J.D. didn't seem to mind her at all, the worry of how far his mom would go was worrying.

"So how did you two meet anyhow?" Valiant's dad asked.

"Well, J.D. just moved to the area this school year. I met her at school, reciting poetry." Valiant answered, honestly if rather incomplete.

"I punched him once at the cafeteria and he's been sweet for me ever since." J.D. injected with a cute smile.

"J.D. please" Valiant groaned, why were they even here? They were meant to be planning revenge on Rae and Kate, not loiter around with Valiant's parents.

Valiant's Dad shrugged, "Well after that break up you had with that running girl, what's her name, Becky? Betty! I could have sworn you'd gone g-"

"Dad! Please!" Valiant snapped, "Look, mom, dad, J.D. and I just needed to grab some things from my room and we were going to head back out. Right J.D.?"

"Yeah, it was pleasant meeting you Mr and Mrs Sawyer." J.D. smiled as Valiant led up the stairs into his room.

Mr Sawyer looked up the stairs and yelled, "Remember protection son."

"GOD, PLEASE!" Valiant yelled before his bedroom door slammed shut.

Valiant was beet red. For something so mercifully short, the experience of showing J.D. to his parents was just too embarrassing. Valiant wanted to just shrivel up all over again,

"So, what's that bar for?" J.D. asked, pointing at the high bar just off the foot of Valiant's bed.

Oh right, J.D. was in his room. A girl is in Valiant's room. He didn't get to clean up! Fuck! Play cool Valiant, play cool he reassured himself as he cleared his throat, "Oh that's my high bar. I use it for exercises like so." He said before grabbing the bar and pulling his chin over. Crossing his legs behind him, he performs more reps before J.D. sits on the foot of the bed and watches him.

He stops and drops down onto the bed, "So, what's your plan for Kate and Rae?" Valiant asked.

"Do you have a phone in here?" J.D. asked.

"I actually do...one moment." Valiant responds before rummaging through his scattered mess of clothes, "I swear I have more clothes than I know what to do with" he muttered before pulling a rotary phone out of the mess and placing it on the bed. "So, are we going to prank call Kate and Rae?" Valiant asked, "I know Kate's number, and they'll no doubt be at the Kelly's residence at this time."

J.D. shrugged, "Something to that effect. We're going to have them meet you at the cemetery. Think you can do that?"

Valiant pondered, given Rae just dismissed him as a manwhore, that might be a touch difficult. Then again, Kate will be most likely to answer so..."No problem." he scoffed, lifting the phone and dialling the Kelly's residence number.

The phone dials for a moment before, "Hello?" Kate answers.

"Hi Kate, it's Valiant." Valiant responds with a more charm coated voice. "I wanted to ask, how did you and Rae knew it was always a fantasy of mine to get it on with two girls at once?"

The phone goes silent for a moment before, "Uhhh, lucky guess?"

"Well why don't we make a fantasy come true? Meet me at the cemetery..." Valiant breathed.

J.D. quickly mouthed to him to Valiant "at dawn".

"At dawn" Valiant added before hanging up. He had no clue how they'd react to the phone call. Maybe they would be gushing over the free dick they don't have to go dating in public for. Perhaps they won't show up at all and the whole affair will be an embarrassing bust. Regardless, the call was made and as soon as Valiant tucked the phone away, J.D. tackled him with a hug that Valiant reciprocated, standing up and spinning around the room.

[J.D.] _We can start and finish wars,_

[J.D. & Valiant] _We're what killed the dinosaurs,_

 _We're the asteroid that's overdue._

Valiant places J.D. down and points over to his window and opens it. She's probably thinking there's something off about my habit of climbing through windows Valiant chuckled to himself before climbing down the vine mesh under his window. Once Valiant reaches half-way down, J.D. follows him down.

 _The dinosaurs chocked on the dust,_

 _They died because God said they must._

 _The new world needed room,_

 _for me and you._

Valiant raises his hands to catch J.D. in case she falls. She easily gets all the way down before jumping into his still outwards arms. She strokes his hair as she whispers to him:

[J.D.] _I worship you._

 _I'd trade my life for yours._

 _They all will disappear,_

[J.D. (Valiant)] _We'll plant our garden here: (plant our garden here)_

 _Our love is God._

Valiant snags a kiss on J.D.s lips before letting her go gently.

[J.D. & Valiant] _Our love is God._

The pair then rush off to the cemetery.

From behind the tallest tree of the cemetery, J.D. let's her bag down in front of Valiant and draws out two revolvers. "Holy sh- are those real?" he gasped.

"Oh yeah" she grinned, "but relax, we're going to load them with Ich Luge bullets" she explained, handing a revolver over to Valiant.

"Igl- what?" Valiant asked as he held the revolver awkwardly, demonstrating trigger safety so poor, J.D. immediately stopped her rummaging to fit the revolver on his hand correctly. Placing his trigger finger away from the trigger itself and pointing the gun straight down. Valiant had seen plenty of movies with them but he was undeniably hopeless with using guns.

J.D. stopped correcting Valiant's gun safety and turned back to her bag to pull out a bullet, "My grandma scored them in World War II. They contain a powerful tranquillizer that the Nazis used to fake their suicides when the Russians invaded Berlin." she lectured before setting the gun and bullets down and drawing out another notepad and pen for Valiant. "We'll use those bullets to knock Rae and Kate out long enough to make it look like a suicide pact, note and all."

Valiant placed his revolver down and took the pad and pen, "So what's their "final" words?" he pried.

J.D. cleared her throat.

[Kate & Rae] _"Rae and I died because we had to hide our gay forbidden love from a disapproving world."_

Valiant wrote the note and gave the characteristic tears and folds of Kate's notes. Curled lines, narrow oblong holes in her vowels "a", "e" and "o" and twice as much space between two vowels than any other pair of letters. Finally, folding the rectangular note once diagonally. Valiant presented the note with a smirk that J.D. shared.

[J.D.] _And when the morning comes,_

 _They'll feel their pride took some cuts,_

[J.D. & Valiant] _So let's go frame some sluts!_

Valiant waited until dawn in front of that tree for Rae and Kate, revolver tucked into his pants behind him and with a growing worry that he had been set up. Shit he panicked, they didn't buy my act over the phone! Now they'd just use that phone call to further torment him with stories about how he loves to get freaky with two girls at on-

"Hey, Valiant."

Valiant looked up to she Kate and Rae slowly approach him and stop just shy of ten feet.

Rae cocked her head, "So like, are gonna just whip it out?" she puzzled.

"Oh, let's set that engine to purr sweetie." Valiant whispered with a thick layer of seduction, "Why don't you two strip for me first?"

To Valiant's surprise, they seemed rather enthused about getting it own with him. They must have been serious about their desires for him, that or they were just a touch inebriated at this moment and Valiant couldn't tell.

"Hey, what about you?" the scantily dressed Kate Kelly prodded towards Valiant.

"Ah, well you see. I thought it would be more thrilling for all parties if you just tore these clothes off of me kitten." Valiant purred.

The girls' eyes lit up and as they both stepped forward, Valiant called to them, "On the count of three." with his hand placed over the tucked away revolver. The girls recite the numbers, giggling with anticipation.

"One".

"Two".

Suddenly, J.D. swung around the tree from its shadow and drew her revolver, Valiant also drew his revolver.

"Three." J.D. called before discharging her bullet into Rae's chest. Valiant fires at Kate but the sudden sight of the guns has her hop back from Valiant's aim, causing his bullet to skim over her skin and creating a nick of blood on her exposed hip.

"Holy crap!" she squeals before flee from the scene.

"Shit, stay here! I'll get her!" J.D. swears to Valiant before breaking chase.

Valiant, shocked at the sight of blood spraying into the open air, rushes over to the dead cold body of Rae. Valiant shakes her with his sleeve covered palm as it is stained from her blood as it trickles down onto it, "Rae? You're just unconscious right?" He clucked, "Rae? Rae!" he shook her body hysterically before realising. Those bullets were real fucking bullets.

She's going to kill her! Valiant gave chase to J.D.

Kate rushes to the chain-link fence and scrambles to climb it, her open wound stinging in the cold air. J.D. catches up and commands, "Get off the fence! Get off the damn fence!"

Kate drops off and raises her hand, tears welling in her eyes, "I don't understand!" she cries.

[J.D.] _We can start and finish wars_

 _We're what killed the dinosaurs._

 _We're the asteroid that's overdue._

[Kate] Stop being a bitch!

[J.D.] _The dinosaurs will turn to dust,_

[Kate] What does that mean?!

[J.D.] _They'll die because we say they must._

BANG!

Kate's corpse falls to the ground, a bullet hole through her heart.

Valiant rushes up and sees the dead Kate Kelly and, back facing him, a murderer he had called his girlfriend.

"What the fuck have you done?" Valiant mustered from his brain coated in horror.

J.D. turns with a smile, its warmth however intended, drained like the pooling blood from Kate and Rae's corpses.

[J.D.] _...I worship you._

 _I'd trade my life for yours._

 _We'll make them disappear._

 _We'll plant our garden here._

J.D. then wrapped her arms around Valiant, hugging his body and his arms tight to his sides. Valiant looked down at the girl he saw as sweet had poisoned him. He didn't want this. Revenge sure, not murder. Did she want this? Why?

[J.D.] _Our love is God._

 _Our love is God._

 _Our love is God._

 _Our love is God._

Valiant mustered the will to hug her back but as he raised is unrestrained forearms, he saw the cuffs of his jacket. Stained with blood, yet not a drop on his hands. No one would ever know what he did here. As no one must.

[J.D.] _Our love is God._

[Valiant] _Our love is gone…_

[J.D.] _Our love is God._

[Valiant] _Our love is gone…_

[J.D. & Valiant] _Our love is God!…_

The rest of that night was a blur for Valiant. He could not remember anything beyond he own anguished shrieks in the cemetery. The cries of a young man who broke his innocence in a most irreparable way.


	8. Love My Seventeen

"Dear Diary,"

[Valiant] " _I'm going steady,_

 _Mostly she's awesome,_

 _If a touch out of control._

 _Lately she's bumped off,_

 _Three of my classmates,_

 _God have mercy on my soul!"_

Valiant slammed his pen down and threw his notebook aside. With liberated hands, he covers his head, body hunched over as he sits on a short wall in front of the church. He mourns as the solemn visitors of the church do.

 _They were just seventeen,_

 _They still had room to grow._

 _They could have turned out good,_

 _But now we'll never know._

J.D. approaches by, grabbing Valiant's discarded notebook and pen before placing them next to the sulking young man. She pulls herself up to sit next to him, "There's been a distinct lack of boys climbing through windows near me as of late" she whispered to him.

"Take the hint." Valiant batted back, raising his head and letting his nested hands slide down to the back of his neck.

J.D. sees catches a cold glare from him. She felt scolded, scolded in a way she hadn't felt since she was a child. Her mom was hot-blood and fury at her whenever she was mad but this, this was cold harsh disappointment. A look she only got from one man. For a moment she looks away from Valiant, his eyes were too cold before she replied, "Look, I get it, you're mad-"

"No, I don't think you actually do get it." Valiant interrupted, his hands break off as he flings them in front of him to emphasise his statement. " 'Ich Luge' bullets? You lied to me!" he added, hands clenched into fists as he slammed them hard against his own knees.

"Hey, you wanted revenge on them. You told me you wanted revenge!" She defensively snapped.

"I didn't want them dead."

"Don't lie to yourself Valiant, of course you did. Of course we wanted them dead."

"I did no such thing."

"Did they make you cry?" J.D. asked.

Valiant hesitated at the question. He didn't expect that sort of question, though the chance to stop an escalating childish verbal tennis argument was welcoming. He exhaled, "Yes".

J.D. held out her arms wide and looked around, "Can the make you cry now?" she grinned.

Valiant watched a cold hand pull itself up from J.D.'s left shoulder, "Ooo...now there's a good idea." the ghostly Henry Chandler cooed, resting his head on J.D.'s extended arm, "Double date in the eternal suffering existence, go out for dinner. I just happen to know a place that serves some delicious sanity." he teased, twirling a finger at Valiant's face.

J.D. shrugs at Valiant's hesitance and hops off the wall, Henry Chandler still floating in place. "I rest my case" she summarised before putting her hands into her trench coat pockets.

"But you can." Valiant responded, J.D. froze as Valiant turned to look at her and away from Henry, "You can still make me cry."

Those cold eyes again, J.D. squirmed before raising her hands protest, "Look, just wait and see the good that will come from thi-"

"What good?" Valiant cut in, stashing his notebook and pen into his pocket without even looking away. "What good could possibly come from the funeral of two teenage girls?"

J.D. shut her eyes and played off her unease with a playful shrug, "call me an optimist" she added before walking up to the church herself.

Valiant jumped off the wall and dusted himself off before following J.D. into the funeral. Passing through the door, Valiant recited to himself an unwritten diary entry.

"Dear Diary,

My teenage angst bullshit now has a body count."

Reluctantly, he sat beside J.D. on the pews and awaited for the sermon to commence. He watched two woman stand next to the coffins, one rather petite with a clean looks if someone had been considerate enough to wipe her smudged make-up, the other a sterner and taller woman with an imposing figure. Valiant figured these two were Rae and Kate's mothers respectively.

The pipe organ commenced its mournful dirge with various friends and family sharing their condolences with the mourning mothers up front before taking their seats. One pair looks frightfully familiar. Henry Duke with Henry McNamara tailing behind him.

Henry Duke looked smaller than before. He was still well cut but he had definitely lost muscle mass. Valiant recalled Henry ranting about muscle hypertrophy, namely how he's recovered from it with no help and had used it in his power grabbing. A part of Valiant felt guilty for never helping him, letting Henry Chandler drill him down into nothing more than a broken husk. Another part, wished he just stayed quiet and stopped being a power-hungry dick. He even wore that red tie in a funeral! How arrogant must he be?

Henry McNamara was just behind him and looked really dour himself. It likely didn't help that the black and white suit was such a departure from his typically bright yellow jackets and shoes. Henry seemed to be looking down at his hands and shaking them irregularly before taking a hand over his mouth and whipping his head back. In his other hand, Valiant could see a peek of the orange translucent plastic cylinder.

Valiant looked away and bowed his head low, he didn't want anyone noticing him here. Too many rumors as it was, he didn't want to brew more, especially from anyone with an inventive imagination and a score to settle with him.

With everyone seat, the woman walked over to the lectern set up between the girls' caskets. "I don't entirely know what to say up here" The darker skinned woman started, the finer dressed lady too choked up to open. "I'm naturally ashamed." She continued, the finer dressed lady stops herself to look over to her taller associate, "My spawn has turned this town into a laughing stock. My daughter Kate, not the woman I thought she was. To think of the twisted, disgusting things Kate & Rae where do-"

"Now you hold you tongue there Pauline!" The finer dressed lady ordered, shaking her finger at her, "It's that same ignorant hateful talk that made this world a place our daughters could not hope to live in!" she ranted.

[Wilma] They were not dirty!

They were not wrong!

 _They were just two lonely verses in our Lord's great song!_

[Pauline] Our girls were dykes Wilma.

[Wilma] _Yes!_

 _My girl's a homosexual, so other girls got her wild,_

 _But I want the world to know_

 _I love my dead gay child!_

Wilma stepped away from the lectern and started to the pews as Pauline is left standing in a perplexed state.

"I've been thinking." She explained, taking out a handkerchief to wipe the stained make up from beneath her eyes, "Praying. Reading some magazines, and it's time we opened out eyes."

[Wilma] _Well, the good Lord made the universe,_

 _The Lord created man,_

 _And I believe it's all a part of his gigantic plan._

 _I know God has a reason for each mountain and each flower,_

 _And why he chose to let our girls get frisky in the shower._

Valiant started to notice a bunch of people stand up from their pews and join in on Wilma's declaration as though it were a gospel choir. Peering around, most still kept sitting down although once he looked beside him, he noticed J.D. was once of the accompanying chanters.

[Wilma (pews)] _They were not dirty! (No!)_

 _They were not fruits! (Whoa!)_

 _They were just two stray laces in the Lord's big boots (Whoaaa!)_

 _I cared none for homos thought they were defiled,_

[Wilma & Pews] _But I have now learned to love,_

[Wilma] _I love my dead gay child!_

[Pews] _She loves her child,_

 _She loves her child,_

 _Her dead gay child!_

More started to stand, Valiant noticed that particularly the Henrys kept sitting in their row of pews. Duke appeared inpatient while McNamara seems too downtrodden to raise his head and listen.

[Wilma] _Now I say my girl's in heaven and she's tanning by the pool,_

 _The angels walk her and her and Mother Mary says it's cool!_

 _They don't have crime or hatred,_

 _There's no other social warts,_

 _Just gal pals in baggy clothing, playing their favourite sports!_

Pauline raises an eyebrow as the pews start to have more people stand. Valiant looks back again and sees the Henrys not standing. If he stood now, they'd see him but he'd probably draw more attention at this rate still sitting.

With a gulp, Valiant stood straight up and joined the singing pews.

[Wilma (pews)] _They were not dirty! (No!)_

 _They just had flair! (Whoa!)_

 _They were two bright red ribbons in the Lord's long hair, (Whoaaa!)_

 _Well, I use to have disgust for gays to put it mild,_

[Wilma & Pews] _But I have now learned to love,_

[Wilma] _And furthermore!_

Wilma turns back away from the pews and looks at Rae and Kate's caskets, stroking the hard wood as she looked up at her still conflicted friend.

 _These girls were brave as hell,_

 _These girls they knew damn well,_

 _Those folks would judge 'em,_

 _They were desperate to be free,_

 _Stood up when no other'd dare,_

 _Stripped to their underwear._

 _Pauline, I can't believe that you,_

 _Still refuse to get a clue._

 _After all that we been through -_

 _I'm talking you and me!_

The congregation gasps in surprise, staring at Wilma.

In the Summer of '83?

The congregation gasps once again and stares up to Pauline. The muscular woman steps to the side and look down at her friend with a glare for a moment that quickly warms to a smile.

"That was one hell of a shopping trip!" Pauline exclaimed, rushing down the stairs to the applause of the pews as she lifts Wilma up and they embrace as now all the pews are emptied with people standing.

[Pews] _Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,_

 _Whoa, whoa, whoa!_

 _They were not dirty – Whoa!_

 _And not perverse – No no!_

 _They were just two stray rhinestones on the Lord's big purse!_

[Wilma & Pauline] _Our jobs are now to work a good love reconciled!_

[Pews] _'Cause now we love, love, love!_

 _We love your dead-_

[Wilma & Pauline] _They're up there getting sweaty to the thump of angel wings!_

 _Rolling round in SUVs while Rock Hudson sings!_

 _They live a playful afterlife that's make-up free, if they so please!_

[Pauline] _They swing upon the pearly gates -_

[Wilma, Pauline and Pews] _With hair on their knees!_

 _Whoo!_

 _They were hot dirty! (No!)_

 _They're good women (Whoa! Whoa!)_  
 _And now they're happy bear cubs in the Lord's big den!_

Wilma and Pauline start to head for the church doors and throw them open, the congregation funnels off their pews to follow them. Valiant and J.D. end up lagging behind. Throwing the doors open, Wilma and Pauline cheer:

[Wilma and Pauline] Now go forth, and love each other now,

 _Let it be known our daughters smiled!_

[Wilma and Pauline (Pews)] _We'll teach the world to love (Teach the world to love)_

 _The world to love._

[Wilma and Pauline] _I love my dead gay child!_

[Pews (Wilma & Pauline)] _Not half bad, your dead gay child! (I love my dead gay child!)_

 _Wish I had your dead gay child. (My child! My child!)_

 _Thank you, mom, for your,_

 _(Dead! Gay!)_

 _Child!_

With that, the congregation scatter out with Wilma and Pauline, the church doors wide open, Valiant walks out to watch them leave. J.D. slowly walks behind him, clapping.

"Well, well well. And from what does their soil bloom?" J.D. muses, "Tolerance? Inclusion? Love?" she smirks, looking back at the caskets and back to Valiant, "How often is it said that it is a good day in Sherwood, Ohio?" She opens out her hands and performs a curtsey, "You are welcome town."

Valiant walks on in defiance before calling back to her "You are less cute when you're smug."

J.D. sighed before running up to follow Valiant away, "So whose next? Henry Duke sounds like a good target. I've already been highlighting some key words in his copy of Moby Dick if you catch my drift." She pressed, nudging Valiant gently with her elbow.

Valiant spins on his heels and yells at her, "NO! No more of this! 3 people are dead J.D., that's more than enough. You are going to give this up."

J.D. grimaces and responds with a flippant, "Or what?"

Was she serious? Valiant was not going to negotiate with her on this. This is not a choice, its not even an ultimatum. Did she really think that this was some petty difference of opinion? Valiant straightened himself up and answered coldly, "Or we are through."

J.D.'s mouth opened partially, her words fell off her lips without a sound. She then started to rationalise, "Hey, war has casualties. Even the most just ones."

Rolling his eyes, Valiant looked away with his arms crossed, it seemed the chilled hammer would do what his more passionate rhetoric would not.

"Would you rather we went to jail? Meanwhile, ass holes and monsters can run free and ruin the world more and more for innocent people like your parents?" She cracked, her voice strained with the emotions that welled up in her. "Are you just going to leave me like him? Wave goodbye to me and-"

Valiant's cold treatment thawed, was she talking about her dad? Come to think of it, she never did mention how he died. He loosens his stance and turns slightly to her, "How did your dad die?" he inquired.

"You actually want to know?" J.D. sniffed.

"Yes".

"Mom said it was an accident, but he knew what he was doing! Two minutes before that library was going to get demolished, he went in there and started to wave at me out the window and then...BOOM!" She cried, punching against a nearby wall, its hardened surface scraping some of her skin that covered her knuckles.

Valiant walked closer to her, "J.D. I-I'm so sorry." he apologised, hand reaching out to touch her shoulder before she swivelled to face him, tears welling up in her eyes from the pain and yet a rather cold expression on her face.

"Don't be. The pain. It gives me clarity" she winched. "Now, we have a lot of work to do."

"What work?" Valiant queried.

J.D. turned away from him and dictated, "To make the world a decent place for people who are decent."

Valiant pleaded, "When does it end?"

"WHEN EVERY ASS HOLE IS FUCKING DEAD!" J.D. shouted, swinging her arm back as turned to Valiant and shout at him.

The swing almost clips Valiant's chin before he bobbed back and quickly reached to grab the sides of her arms, head low, he admits:

[Valiant] Fine.

 _We're damaged,_

 _Really damaged._

 _But that does not make us wise._

Valiant raises his head up to look into J.D.'s eyes.

 _We're not special,_

 _We're not different,_

 _We don't choose who lives or dies._

J.D. shrugs off one of Valiant's hands to turn away. Valiant grabs her gripped arm with his free hand to hold her back from walking away from him.

 _Let's be normal,_

 _See bad movies,_

 _Sneak a beer and watch TV._

J.D. pulls her arm away swiftly and starts to walk off, Valiant ends up collapsing to his knees and pleading as she walks away.

 _We'll bake brownies or go bowling,_

 _Don't you want a life with me?_

The final line stops J.D. cold and she turns around to look at Valiant. Slowly walking towards him as she hears his heartfelt plea.

 _Can't we be seventeen?_

 _That's all I want to do,_

 _If you could let me in,_

 _I could be good with you._

With J.D. close enough, Valiant steps up to his feet. The two stand facing each other at a foot or so of distance.

 _People hurt us,_

[J.D.] _Or they vanish._

[Valiant] _And you're right, that really blows,_

 _But we let go,_

[J.D.] _Take a deep breath,_

[Valiant] _Then go buy some summer clothes._

The pair slowly close in together, each one miming out an activity they could do together instead.

 _We'll go camping,_

[J.D.] _Play some poker,_

[Valiant] _And we'll eat some chilli fries._

 _Maybe prom night,_

[J.D.] _Maybe dancing_

The two embrace in a ball dancing position.

[Valiant (J.D.)] _Don't stop looking in my eyes (your eyes)_

The world seems to melt away around them as Valiant and J.D. aimlessly dance together across the abstract landscape, wet eyes locked onto wet eyes.

[Valiant and J.D.] _Can't we be seventeen?_

 _Is that so hard to do?_

 _If you could let me in,_

 _I could be good with you,_

 _Let us be seventeen,_

 _If we still got the right._

[Valiant] _So what's it gonna be?_

Valiant moved his arm away from around J.D.'s waist and placed his hand at the back of her head. J.D. reached up with her hand from around Valiant and rested it against his heart.

[Valiant (J.D.)] _I wanna be with you! (Wanna be with you)_

 _[Valiant & J.D.] I wanna be with you tonight!_

The two tumble down a grassy hill, resting side by side near the bottom with the setting sun watching over them. Valiant looks up at it before grabbing J.D.'s knuckle bloodied hand and with it raised, looks at it and back to J.D. who looks back to him.

[Valiant] _Yeah, we're damaged._

[J.D.] _Badly damaged._

[Valiant] _But your love's too good to lose._

Valiant reaches past J.D. with his other hand and pulls her closer to him until they are in an embrace.

[Valiant] _Hold me closer,_

[J.D.] _Even tighter,_

[Valiant] _I'll stay if I'm what you choose._

[J.D.] _Can we be seventeen?_

[Valiant] _If I am what you choose._

[J.D.] _If we still have the right._

[Valiant] _Because you're the one I choose,_

[J.D.] _You're the one I choose._

Valiant brings J.D.s hurt hand to his face and kisses the hurt knuckles. The lovesick pair smile to each other.

[Valiant & J.D.] _You're the one I choose._

The sun started to set on their touching moment. Valiant rested his head against J.D.'s as the two looked up to the darkening sky, a twinkling curtain against the hot searing sun. The final day of J.D. and him ever wanting to murder someone has passed, Valiant thought. Once the world simmers and the deaths of Rae and Kate fall asleep, he could hopefully, finally, live life the way he wanted.

"And they all lived Happily Ever After. The End." Henry Chandler snarked as his head floated down into Valiant's line of sight. Valiant could only hope the buzz of suicides would let him be free of the mood killing, wise cracking, sleep depriving, guilt tripping prick of an apparition. "Don't tell me you actually believe that life's going to go back to normal now. And with her?" he pointed down at J.D., oblivious to the ghost floating over her, "You already know what she is...and you love it!"

Valiant tried to look away and ignore Henry.

"Don't get mad at me now, I'm only giving it to you straight, like a true dead best friend would." The ghost of Henry Chandler chimed.

"Some friend you've been in life" Valiant muttered.

"Hmm?" J.D. murmured as she looked up to him.

"I mean, "some time we've had the night"! We should go home, I doubt we want any one of our parents prodding questions." Valiant improvised. The pair sat up from the grass and slowly rose to their feet, "See you back at school tomorrow."

"Will do, good night." J.D. waved as she started her climb up the grassy hill.

Valiant blew her a kiss as she left and watched her walk on. A moment's pause causes him to hold the back of his head, and all the leaves stuck to it. "Aw man, washing this is going to be a nightmare!" Valiant groaned as he made his own way home.

"Be careful not to wash that head too much, you know what it does to your hair."

"Oh shut up Henry!"


	9. Shiny, Whiny Boats in the Dumps

Valiant walked off the bus with a crick in his neck. Writhing around on his bed in his sleep had going stir crazy as Henry Chandler's ghost harassed him was an exhausting tax on his sleep. It wasn't like Valiant was purposefully trying to worry himself out of sleeping, nothing would have made him happier than a good night's sleep, a dull school day, some chat up lines with J.D., a joke or two with the Henrys, bumping into Martin-

Wait, Martin?

Valiant shook his head to look down to his rather anxious old friend, "Whoa, sorry for that Martin, struggling to get sleep these days." he yawned, feeling the distant ethereal chill of the long dead Henry Chandler trail behind him. Valiant adds, "I'm sorry I've been acting very distant since the party, I had...stuff to do."

"I thought her name was J.D." Henry snickered to Valiant before Valiant tried dismissing the pesky projection with his hand.

"Valiant" Martin murmured, "Can I talk to you quietly about something?" he asked, his unease was apparent even to the fuzzy sighted Martin.

"Sure man, wanna chat in the toilets, I need to splash some water in my face." Valiant remarked, it seemed to had done the trick before when he was drunk so it should do the trick now he figured, walking through the bathroom door with Martin following behind him. Oh God, the school's going to think he's drunk Valiant swallowed, so much for Harvard.

"I've been thinking about Rae and Kate." Martin explained as Valiant splashed his face. "Something does not seem to add up. I-I think they mi-might have been...murdered."

Valiant shot up from the sink at the sound of the "M" word, catching the reflections of Martin over his left shoulder and the ghostly Henry Chandler on his right. Chandler hooks his left arm over Valiant's shoulder and smirked, "Well fuck me gently with a chainsaw, looks like one of the Hardy boys is onto you after eating his brother." he mocked.

Valiant turned towards Martin and stammered, "Wh-why would you think that? The police even reported it as a suicide after their investigation. They found a suicide note at the scene of the crime."

Martin pressed, "It could have been faked! You of all people should know about that, you read about, what was it called, graphology? You have made plenty of forgeries before in school even."

Henry started to laugh, slapping at Valiant's back in hysterics, "Holy shit! Call me a chubby chaser cause I think I'm starting to love this butterball." he guffawed.

"Well what about motive? Who the hell would have it in them to kill two of the most iconic senior girls in Westerburg?" Valiant asked, slowly inching towards the door while trying to play cool. Calm yourself he reassured, Martin will think he's right if you run. Just chill and slowly walk off.

"That's why I'm talking to you. I think that girlfriend of yours J.D. did it." Martin accused.

Valiant had reached the bathroom door and pulled it open, before him were two ghostly girls standing together in their underwear with perpetually blood flowing wounds, one in her abdomen, the other over her heart with a small cut on her hip. Just as Henry promised, Rae and Kate had came to haunt him too!

"I mean, you saw what she was like with them at that cafeteria fight? The one you got punched in?" Martin elaborated.

"Yeah, she really messed my hair up that day." Rae added, Valiant released the door to let it swing back on them and turned back around.

He couldn't handle this, Valiant could not handle this. Sure enough, the panicked adrenaline spike was doing wonders for his drowsiness though the dried up throat and slight jitter would probably trip more warnings off now.

"I know it must make you awful that I'm saying all this stuff about your girlfriend Valiant but, there's something off about that J.D." Martin confessed, his eyes were drooping with a tinge of sadness seeing his friend so shaken. Like a crumbling tower, he looked awful and ready to collapse.

"Hey Rae, do you think Valiant would look good in chains?" Kate asked her ethereal companion as the two passed through the door and circled around Valiant's neck, the tension making Valiant tug at his jacket collar, revealing to him in the bathroom reflection a black metal chain. "He's too pretty to drop the soap."

"Ooo, boy on boy? I want to she that." Rae responded with a vile look in her eyes as the ghosts started to float next to Martin, forming a small group of prying eyes.

"I can only stop when I know for certain." Martin protested, "Let me investigate J.D.'s locker, you of all people should know what her combination is."

"Yeah, I'm sure Martin will find plenty of things in her locker." Henry said as he casually wrapped his arms around each of the girl's shoulders. "Perhaps an Ich Luge bullet or two?"

"Martin, this is ridiculous." Valiant argued, swallowing hard between each sentence, "You want to risk being branded a pervert by sniffing through a girl's private belongings? Because of a theory?"

"More than a theory." Martin declared, his eyes now turned to a more determined and assertive look. It looked even more unnatural than the ghosts behind him, Martin Dunnstock being even slightly angry about something was not anything even Valiant had seen before, "I don't give a darn about what anyone said at that funeral. Rae was not a lesbian. I'd stake my life on it!"

"Ha!" the ghost of Kate Kelly bellowed, "Rae's a fatty magnet!"

"Yeah well, at least I'm not some leather freak who wants boys to whip her!" Rae protested.

"Do not!" Kate argued with embarrassment in front of Henry and Valiant.

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

The girls escalated their squabbles to hair pulling, Valiant snapped at them, "Stop it!"

"Stop what?" Martin asked with a look of horror, "Valiant, what's going on? What's wrong with you?"

Valiant tried to laugh off the tension, his words turning into a mess of nervous laughs as Henry drew closer to Valiant with Martin seemingly pushed towards Valiant as well while the ghost girls faded from his mind. "L-look. Le-let me try to understand. I-I mean Rae was gay, wh-why are you s-s-so defensive?" he projected.

"She kissed me. On the kick ball field, remember?" Martin retorted.

"In kindergarten. People change Martin." Valiant deflected, turning himself back towards the sink and started to wash his hands.

"My heart knows the truth Valiant." Martin responded with his hand over his fluttering heart longing for a dead girl.

"The mongoose has got you trapped you little snake." Henry hissed, turning Valiant back around to Martin, "Will you let him break you...or are you going to poison him?"

"Why would she invite me to her homecoming party if she didn't still feel something for me?" Martin argued, throwing his heart guarding hand down into a clenched fist.

Valiant started drawing straws of thought to argue in desperation. Because maybe she wanted to confess to you in the hopes you'd understand? No, why do that at such a big gathering? Because she was a bisexual? No, he's struggling to believe she was a lesbian, he'd call bullshit on bisexuality. Because she wanted to pull a prank on you like the Henrys? No, that would open the door to-

"Just tell the truth. Confessions good for the soul." Henry mocked as Martin past right through him to close the gap between him and Valiant.

"Why would she have write that note?" He questioned.

Valiant was running out of words to say.

"I'm going to confront J.D." Martin declared, turning away from Valiant to leave.

"No!" Valiant shouted impulsively, he couldn't let J.D. find out about Martin's suspicions. Could he? She wouldn't actually- but would she?

"The time is nigh, Confess the truth Valiant!" Henry ordered. Valiant's head sunk low.

Venom seeped onto the once good natured schoolboy's tongue. He laughed.

Valiant laughed at the bewildered Martin with a thick tone of mockery, "Oh Martin, you are such a riot!" he laughed with a foul grin painted across his mouth, lips stretched out to be like sharp and pointed razor blades.

Martin hesitated, "What do you mean?" he finally asked, words quivering with a coat of dread.

"That love note was fake. She never wrote it. I did!" Valiant whispered with all the menace he could reluctantly muster, hands pointing at him alongside his accusation.

Martin chuckled nervously, "Y-You're lying. W-Why would you-"

"Do that? You mean besides the fact that the Henrys set me up to do it as a school-wide joke at your expense?" He confessed flippantly, the corner of his eye catching the mimicking Henry Chandler to drive the self inflicted wound deeper. "Because Rae would have found it hilarious! I figured you always wanted to see her smile to you, so what better way that having you embarrass yourself in front of her."

Who was this creep? Where was Martin's friend? Why was he saying these things? Did he enjoy this lying? Was it lying? Martin's face turned to mortified tears as Valiant continued his crude heartless alias.

"She never loved you." Valiant spat, the corrosive words wounding poor Martin's heart. "She was a whore." he shrugged, with a final flippant remark, "And now she's dead. Move on."

Martin was stunned with disparaging feelings of pain and anger. His eyes welled up and flooded his face as he rushed away, from who he hoped was his best friend.

Valiant's legs collapse on themselves as he drops to his hands. Balled up into fists, Valiant slammed the ground, "Shit! SHIT!"

Henry floated down to Valiant and snarked, "Wow, and you thought I was a dick to Henry Duke? Pretty sure I've never hurt him that badly."

"I had to hurt him." Valiant responded defensively, "If I let him confront J.D., she would have-"

"Killed him?" Henry completed, "Are you afraid of that? I thought you had made sure Annie got her gun hanged away? Don't you trust her?" he bleated with feigning sincerity and bashing eyelids.

Valiant slowly pulled himself up and washed off again. Henry finally left Valiant in peace with those last few words. Dark clouds festered within Valiant as he made his way out of the toilets, his guilt for Martin had returned to his attention as it now weighed on his heart more than ever, whispers of questionable trust in J.D. swirled round his head, and his hands. They were so clean, how were they so clean, with all the evils he had done, the cuffs once stained with innocent blood and a brain tormented by the spectors of sin long pa-

"Valiant!" Mr Fleming exclaimed, "There you are. You were about to be late for the special assembly. Come with me." He dragged the poor boy off to the cafeteria as other students started to gather.

Upon effectively being shoved into the cafeteria, Valiant watched as Mr. Fleming started to hustle students around clear tables and chairs away. Valiant finally noticed the camera crew standing at the other side of the hall doing their own set up and preparations.

"Oh great, another bonding session" Valiant groaned as he joined in the clearing. What is with this school's obsession with these things whenever suicide arose? First the long weekend and bonding over Henry Chandler, and now what, a TV special?

Mr. Fleming then started handing everyone a pamphlet that read "Shine a light" on it. They were not gonna-

Sure enough, the pamphlet was song lyrics and directions. Seriously? Valiant just wanted people to move on and stop reminding him of these deaths.

"Ok everyone, gather round, to the center." Mr Fleming directed, "Make sure the cameras can get you all."

As Valiant felt shepherded into the mass, he over heard the Henrys. "Did you have a brain tumor for lunch?" Henry Duke snapped, now looking smaller than Valiant.

"Sorry Henry" Henry McNamara sighed, Valiant wondered what that was about. Then the thought of McNamara swallowing something before the funeral came back to his head. Were the two connected? If they were, he certainly couldn't ask now with a watching audience of the school and who knows where else.

Valiant stood next to J.D. who seemed to only be half reading the lyric sheet and other half looking at her shoes. Valiant gave her a wink which brought a smile out from her. Mr Fleming then cleared his throat, "Alright everyone. How's ready to shine a light?" he cheered as a CD player booted on in the corner.

No one responded beyond staring at the over enthusiastic teacher. "Oh you can try better than that, show some school spirit, whose ready to shine a light?" he repeated.

The class gave off a cheer, one mostly for humours sake and another for the challenge of 'school spirit'. The Henrys were big advocates for "school spirit" so it made sense such a throwaway line would have added more pep to the proceedings, even if to only a few students in this crack-ball choir.

"Ok! Now, don't worry about the TV cameras and the news crews children." Mr. Fleming reassured, "We're here to document this specific moment. Whether to kill yourself or not is the most important choices a teenager can make."

Valiant wanted to scream, a school teacher doesn't even seem to know what makes a choice a choice. Does that word mean anything anymore?

"Now, does everyone know what I am going to do?" Mr Fleming asked.

"Kill yourself on stage?" A goth girl asked, causing a burst of snickers and chuckles across the student body that made this mass.

"That is NOT productive Deborah." Mr Fleming wagged, his finger pointing at the enquiring girl. Knowing Valiant's luck, had Mr. Fleming did in fact off himself, Valiant would be stuck being haunted by a Henry, two stars of the cheerleading squad and his teacher!

"My senior thesis covered paediatric psychotheraputic musicology." Mr Fleming explained, "It was VERY well regarded." He added defensively before continuing with "so, I speak with some authority when I say that the way to eliminate suicide is to first eliminate fear. By first creating a safe zone where we can all be equal. Because you are all beautiful!"

[Mr Fleming] _Deep inside of everyone,_

 _There's a hot ball of shame._

 _Guilt, regret, anxiety,_

 _Fears we dare not name._

Mr Fleming then turned towards the cameras before continuing his singing. Valiant looked down at the sheet. Sure enough, Mr Fleming penned this so most of us would only sing one lyric over and over again at the sight of a raised hand.

 _But, if we show the ugly parts_

 _That we hide away,_

 _They turn out to be beautiful,_

 _By the light of day._

 _Why not,_

Mr Fleming points up, that's our cue!

[Fleming and Choir] _Shine shine, shine a light!_

[Fleming] _On your deepest fears!_

[Fleming and Choir] _Let in sunlight now._

[Fleming] _And your pain will disappear!_

[Fleming and Choir] _Shine, shine, shine._

[Fleming] _And your scars and your flaws,_

[Fleming and Choir] _Will look lovely because you shine!_

[Fleming] _You shine a light._

[Choir] _Shine, shine, shine a light._

 _Shine, shine, shine a light._

Suddenly, Valiant spots from the corner of his eye, a punk rocker type student pushes through the choir with his head looking down at his script. As he starts to advance on Mr Fleming, Valiant feels a nudge behind him as a cheerleader with a nerdy girl pushes through him and J.D. to also join Mr Fleming up in front, all reading over their upcoming lines, as though this exercise were graded.

The Punk rocker is first handed the microphone from Mr Fleming.

[Punk boy] _Everyday's a battlefield,_

 _When pride's on the line._

The cheerleader then takes hold and slightly pulls the microphone towards her.

[Cheerleader] _I attack your weaknesses,_

[Cheerleader and Punk] _And pray you don't see mine._

The cheerleader quickly trades places with the nerdy girl and returns to the choir, once again pushing through Valiant and J.D. to do so.

[Nerdy girl] _But if I share my ugly parts,_

[Nerdy girl, Punk boy and Mr Fleming] _And you show me yours,_

 _Our love can knock our walls down,_

 _And unlock all our doors._

With that, the students are dismissed to return to the choir as Mr Fleming builds the class up to the chorus once more with his hand raised and another taking the mic.

[Fleming and Choir] _Go on and,_

 _Shine, shine, shine a light,_

[Fleming] _On your deepest fears!_

[Choir] _Let in sunlight now,_

[Fleming] _And your pain will disappear!_

With a single clap of his hands, Mr Fleming hops around to face the choir and calls out:

Who wants to share what's in their heart?

Absolute silence.

No volunteers? Fine, I'll start,

 _My name is Paul,_

 _I live on my own,_

 _My wife left,_

 _My kids have grown,_

 _In the 60s love was free,_

 _That didn't work well for me._

 _The revolution came and went,_

 _Tried to change the world,_

 _Barely made a dent._

 _I have struggled with despair,_

 _I've joined a cult,_

 _Chopped off my hair._

 _I chant, I prayed, but god's not there,_

So Steph! I'm ending our affair!

The song came to a halt as the choir gasped at the news and some of the television crew looked to each other in surprise. Valiant's eyes widened, J.D. pressed her music sheet hard against her face to keep her laugh from escaping.

And the one with your cousin, your sister and your daughter too!

The exclaims of shock grew louder and this point with some of the rowdier students even cheering Mr Fleming aloud. J.D. lost her battle with her mouth and unleashed a laugh, Valiant choosing to tactically obscure her from the camera's view as he bit into the fat of his index finger to keep from reacting. Suffice it to say, Mr Fleming had certainly left an impression on the class, whatever it was.

The post-middle-aged teacher let out a sigh of relief. "Whew, that was a lot off my chest. I feel splen-dinking-did! Now class, TAKE ME AWAY!" He commanded with his fist punched into the air for the chorus and music's timely return.

[Fleming & Choir] _Go on and,_

 _Shine, shine, shine a light,_

[Fleming] _On your deepest fears!_

[Choir] _Let in sunlight now._

[Fleming] _And your pain will disappear!_

[Choir] _Shine, shine, shine._

[Fleming] _And your scars and your flaws,_

[Fleming (Choir)] _Will look lovely because you shine! (Ahh, ahh, ahh)_

[Fleming] _You shine, you shine a liiiiiiiiiiiight!_

[Fleming and Choir] _Shine, shine, shine a light,_

 _Shine, shine, shine a light,_

 _Shine, shine, shine a light,_

 _Shine, shine, shine a light,_

 _Shine, shine, shine a light,_

 _Shine, shine, shine a light,_

 _Shine, shine, shine a light,_

 _Shine a light! YEAH!_

Fleming jumped into a pose with the final cheer to end the song. As the CD ran to its end, Fleming quickly turned to the now song high class, "Alright then, time for you to throw me a bone kids, who wants to share their pain?" He asked, microphone raised out to the choir.

Unfortunately, even that little warm up exercise would not conquer 3-5 years of puberty powered paranoia! The class remained silent.

"Come on now." Mr Fleming insisted, pacing around the choir, "This is a safe zone kids. There's no fear to have when you share he-"

"I'll do it!"

The class turned around to watch the star quarterback, Henry McNamara walk over to Mr Fleming. The choir pulled away at his presence, granting him a clear walkway to the teacher.

This walkway also stood for Henry Duke who quickly chased up to grab Henry McNamara, "What do you think you're doing? Shut up and get ba-" He started to order.

"No no no no, let him speak Henry." Mr Fleming interrupted, pulling Henry Duke's grip off of Henry McNamara before leading the yellow jacket adorned Henry closer to the TV cameras. "Do not stop Henry, this is a safe place. It's just you. Me. And the entire class who love you!" Mr Fleming cheered, waving his hand over a mostly indifferent albeit curious mass of seniors.

Valiant leaned in with curiosity too, was this going to tie to that bottle from the funeral? Or the suicides? Or his now bitchier friend having become student dictator?

"Go on now, share to the cameras." Mr Fleming encouraged with a gentle nudge pushing Henry McNamara closer to the TV cameras' focus with nothing to defend himself beyond Mr Fleming's microphone clasped tightly to his chest.

Henry Duke pressed, "Henry, get back in line."

Mr Fleming pushed Henry Duke back into the choir with nothing more than a "zip it!" for the red tied Henry's trouble.

Henry McNamara let out a sigh before pouring, "My sort-of girlfriend killed herself because she was gay for her pyramid top." He paused to lick his lips, he wished he was tackling someone instead, like someone 4 times his size, no 5! That would be easier than this surely, "My best friend, who seemed to have it all together then, well, he's gone too!" he struggled before an exclaimation of emotional frustration suddenly broke through, "My stomach kills me every morning, my smile strains as I ride the bus back and forward from school and I am like 'Jesus, I am on the freaking bus again because all the friends who'd give me a ride to school are all dead!'."

With that outburst, the quarterback contracts towards his microphone again, as if it was the ball for his game against his angst and emotions. He clenches his eyes shut tight, the world melts around him for a torrent of water that surrounds a modest lifeboat where Henry McNamara stands alongside blobs. A red one, a green one, two smaller white and black ones, and a blue one. With this image in his head, the quarterback expunges:

[Henry McNamara] _I float in a boat,_

 _In a raging black ocean._

 _Low in the water,_

 _With no where to go,_

 _The tiniest lifeboat,_

 _With people I know._

To all around him, Henry looks small. It was an unnerving sight, a quarterback that could tackle whole stadiums with a smile, the cheeriest of all the Henrys, Westerburg's elite student clique, seemed pale and shrivelled with dread.

 _Cold, clammy and crowded,_

 _The people smell desperate._

 _We'll sink any minute,_

 _So someone must go._

 _The tiniest lifeboat,_

 _With people I know._

The blobs in Henry's lifeboat rise and all around, people see Henry straighten slightly to collect air in his lungs before an explosion. His terror bursts into the microphone.

 _Everyone's pushing._

Henry witnesses the blue blob and red blob pushing at each other until the red stumbles back against the boat and goes overboard.

 _Everyone's fighting._

The green and monochrome blobs then jump on the blue blob and try to push it off, almost drowning it before it reflexively throws itself back, causing the smaller white and black blobs to be thrown off the boat to Henry's horror.

As Henry erupts, the students recoil in fear as the quarterback pours over his metaphor and emotionally drowns several students. Valiant feels himself shudder as he tries to imagine this unfolding in Henry McNamara's head.

 _Storms are approaching,_

 _There's nowhere to hide._

Henry's boat violently rocks to the waves kicked up by flashes of lightning bolts striking the water.

Henry himself reels back with the waves carrying him all around the cafeteria with his emotional outbursts.

 _If I say the wrong thing,_

 _Or I help the wrong person,_

 _They'll throw me right over the side._

Henry sees the green and blue blob approach him, with green taking lead, the two grab Henry before the image in his mind blacks out.

The students watch the quarterback shrink down once more, now down to his knees with head slumped over. No one even wants to say anything as their own torrent of emotions paralyse them all. Henry Duke included.

What do I do, the dark haired Henry Duke thought, he's tearing himself apart out there. I need to help him...right? No, think of the title. All these years and months have been for this red tie and the power it wields, I cannot let it be weakened by...this!

 _I'm, down on my knees,_

 _And the captain is pointing,_

 _Well who made him captain?_

Henry McNamara stoop up to glare at the green blob as it pointed accusingly towards him. The burst of action however could not last as Henry slumped on his feet quickly after.

That last snap brought Henry McNamara to his feet, the bang of his jump landing shocking its audience, more then anyone else was Henry Duke. The boy juggled with helping or ending Henry McNamara for friendship or for status as every lyric past from Henry McNamara's lips.

 _Still, the weakest must go._

 _The tiniest lifeboat,_

 _Full of people I know._

 _The tiniest lifeboat,_

 _Full of people I know._

Henry's shoulders slumped down as strength drained from him. His arms, once clasped against him or flailing out at the storm bitten air of his mind, slacked to his side, only loosely keeping hold of the microphone as the feeling of the storms bleeding from his eyes started to set in.

Henry Duke felt something rise within him. Two things actually. The first was guilt, guilt for turning into the very same heartless monster he always saw Henry Chandler as but not from his own eyes, its was Henry McNamara's. The other and unfortunately faster swelling emotion, was fear. Fear all his planning, the prolonged suffering of his muscle hypertrophy that he only recently could cure, the calculated attacks on everyone else's egos, were to fall apart because that meathead has feelings? Oh hell no he thought and quickly marched over to shout into the taller boy's face.

"What is your damage Henry?" He shouted, Mr Fleming rushing in to push the two boys apart as he witnessed it. "Are you saying that Westerburg is NOT a nice place?"

"Now Henry, behave yourself or-" Mr Fleming warned in vain.

"Where's your school spirit? You have no right playing for our sports teams OR wearing our colors!" Henry Duke continued to snap, seeing Henry McNamara's eyes water before the quarterback and shut them and look away.

"Do not be mean spirited Henry Du-" Mr Fleming tried to warn again, once again being shot down by the swift force of emotions propelling Henry Duke to escalate his tirade.

"Why don't you get on that tiniest life boat of yours, and catch a gnarly wave over to Remmington you traitor!" Henry Duke concluded with students finally choosing to join behind Henry Duke.

"Oh look!" A boy bellows, pointing at the star quarterback, "Henry's gonna cry." He mocks with the other students joining in. Pushing poor Henry McNamara out of the cafeteria in tears.

Mr Fleming watches in shame before turning to Henry Duke with, "Young man, you are suspended!" He quickly rushes over to the television cameras, unknowingly throwing up Valiant's temper. "Turn these cameras off! Turn them off!" the teacher ordered.

Valiant quickly steps out from the slowly dispersing choir. J.D. tries to reach for him to pull him back but is too late as Valiant confronts his teacher, "Is that really all you care about? TV cameras?" Valiant asks with a low growl of anger.

The students slowly turn their attention away from the since gone crying Henry McNamara to the showdown between Mr Fleming and Valiant Sawyer. They are pressed to silence from the look of sheer fury bubbling from Valiant's face.

"I care about saving lives." Mr Fleming insisted, "Henry Duke ruined a valuable-"

"VALUABLE?!" Valiant burst, J.D.'s eyes widened with worry as she watched her boyfriend rant. "NONE OF US WANTED TO BE HERE! None of us want to be your virtuous spectacle where we get experimented on like guinea pigs and patronised like bunny rabbits!"

Mr Fleming gasped, "I do not patronise bunny rabbits!"

Valiant was seeing red, and was not from Henry Chandler's appearance over the mad student's shoulder. "This is the adults' big secret Valiant." The ghost explained with little regard for the current situation, as though cleaning his undead nails were the primary focus of his attention, "The adults are powerless."

"Henry McNamara trusted you, you assured he would be protected so he poured his heart out in this very cafeteria and you did what? NOTHING!" Valiant snapped, throwing down one hand before his teacher to emphasise the nothing Mr Fleming did.

J.D. slowly crept away from the choir to get closer to Valiant. She had no idea what he would say next but honestly, the chance he would confess when emotions were high, it was boiling over like Valiant's temper right now.

Henry continued to punch in comments as he rode on Valiant's back, "They cannot help us. Nobody can."

"You're useless!" Valiant spat at Mr. Fleming, his eyes violently stabbing through Mr Fleming's head. The teacher, unnerved by this student's outburst stepped away from him and merely started to flee out of the classroom.

Without any authority figure, the TV crew started to pack their equipment and the students started to shuffle away.

J.D. ran over to him and grabbed his hand, "Hey, careful with the shouting." she whispered cautiously, "you might let something slip" she warned.

"We are alone in the ocean." Henry Chandler added.

Valiant swung towards the student body starting to leave and throwing off J.D.'s grip, he roars, "YOU ARE ALL IDIOTS!" The insult halting the students from moving any further out and casting Henry Chandler out of existance.

"Valiant, darling, you really need to cool your motor!" she insisted with a cold emphasis on her last point to offset the sweetened tone of her "darling" before now actively trying to pull her boyfriend back.

"NO!" he responded and easily shrugging off his smaller girlfriend rushed to the middle of the former choir and spat with the heat and velocity of a machine gun, "Henry Chandler was a monster, just like Kate and Rae and they didn't kill themselves, I KILLED THEM!"

Valiant's eyes widened as he grappled his throat to silence but, too late, his furious confession already escaped his lips and chilled the room to a deathly quiet. J.D. quickly slinked away from the shocked glances of the students as Valiant added, now far more reservedly, "So, what do you think of that?"

The room was dead, despite its hosts being very much alive. All but one of course, the now reappeared Henry Chandler, looking at Valiant with satisfied grin. Finally, Valiant was going to suffer for his crimes. His emotional outburst would have him executed, justice would be served.

The ghost however vanished as Henry Duke walked right through it to laugh uproariously in Valiant's face. Valiant's face of twisted to confusion and J.D.'s into relief as the rest of the students and even some supposedly professional TV camera crew joined in. Why did nobody seem to believe Valiant?

"Heh heh, it seems SOME people will say ANYTHING if they think it will make them popular!" Henry Duke concluded, as everyone slowly flushed out of the room, Valiant however instead sprinted out the same door Henry MacNamara left from.

"Valiant?" J.D. asked before quickly giving chase, calling out "Valiant!"

Henry McNamara ran into a boys' bathroom. He wanted privacy, he wanted to escape misery, he wanted his pills.

Grabbing the neglected "No running" janitorial stand behind the bathroom door, Henry shut the bathroom closed and wedged the sign under the door handle. That should give him enough time to calm down and take the pill. The calming pill. The pill to pep him back up to before all these suicides killed his smile.

Henry turned his back on the door and walked to the middle of the empty bathroom and desperately fished out his pill bottle from his pocket with his hands trembling with the strained and snapped bonds of friends and peers that once kept him held up. His trembling state cripples his motor functions as he fidgets and struggles with the bottle cap.

"Stupid child proof caps!" he curses before pressing his whole hand down on the bottle to twist it.

Suddenly, Henry starts to hear a familiar voice open up one of the stalls in front of him. Henry Duke? No. How, this was empty right?

But sure enough, a ghostly visage of Henry Duke walks out with a scarred mocking grin on his face:

[Henry Duke] Aw look, Henry's gonna-

Henry Duke shoves the trembling broken Henry McNamara as the walls and floor fade away to many judging eyes of recognisable students chanting alongside the McNamara's "friend".

[Duke and company] _Whine, whine, whine all night!_

Henry Duke grabs Henry McNamara's pill bottle over the top of McNamara's own hand. Henry Duke stares straight into Henry McNamara.

[Henry Duke] _You don't deserve to live!_

With that, Henry Duke yanks the bottle away from Henry McNamara, pulling the bottle free from its cap but the bottle itself says in Henry McNamara's hand. Henry Duke shoves the bottle into Henry McNamara's chest, allowing Henry McNamara to coax out a pill into his free hand after pocketing the cap.

[Henry and company] _Why not kill yourself?_

[Henry Duke] _Here have a sedative._

Henry Duke slaps the bottle upwards, causing a sudden overflow of pills to drop into Henry McNamara's hand before McNamara instinctively pours them back in, accidentally undoing most of his work. Henry Duke starts to pressure the emotionally vulnerable Henry McNamara towards the sinks.

[Henry and company] _Whine, whine, whine!_

[Henry Duke (company)] _Like there's no Santa Claus, (ooh, ooh)_

[Henry and company] _You're pathetic because you whine!_

[Henry Duke] _You whine all night!_

With Henry McNamara feeling his back pressed against sink, the specter of Henry Duke, with his back facing the bathroom stalls, gets right into Henry McNamara's face.

[Henry (company)] _(Whine) Your ass is off the team._

Trying to block the tormenting thought and ironic echo out, Henry McNamara turns himself towards the wall opposite the bathroom door, only to look at a visage of his dead friend, Henry Chandler, spouting more thoughts at McNamara in Henry Duke's voice.

 _(Whine) Go on and bitch and moan._

The sight of Henry Chandler, his best friend, mouthing such words compels Henry to turn completely around to the door but, once again, the poor quarterback was trapped. This time by a ghost resembling Valiant Sawyer who says with Henry Duke's voice:

 _(Whine) You don't deserve to dream._

His stomach writhes with pain as the stabbing betrayal forced Henry McNamara to turn towards the mirror. From here, his sees himself mouthing words of pain and misery to him alongside the chanting reflections and eyes.

 _(Whine) You're gonna die alone!_

The pain. It won't stop. A pill. It won't stop. More. I'll need more. Henry's thoughts looked down to the every tempting bottle of pills. More happiness. More happiness to offset more suffering. Eternal suffering. Needs eternal happiness. A distant banging pounds on wood.

[Henry and company] _Die alone!_

 _Die alone!_

 _Die alone!_

 _Die alone!_

Henry McNamara starts to pour all the pills into his mouth. Before he can swallow however, the banging loudens into a deafening crack as someone breaks the door open.

Valiant drops to the floor of the bathroom after shoulder tackling the bathroom door open. He watches Henry McNamara down the bottle. "No!" Valiant panics, clamouring to his feet before tackling the unsuspecting quarterback, "Don't swallow!"

With both boys collapsed to the ground, the yellow clad one witnesses his emptied pill bottle drop to the floor. Realising he was one swallow away from escape, he desperately pushed away Valiant and complained, "Suicide' 'pposta be a private thing." His mouth stuffed full of antidepressants.

Valiant starts to sit himself up and pull closer to Henry, "Throwing your life away to be a statistic on USA today is like the least private thing I can think of." He argued.

"But what 'bout Henry, Kate and Rae?" Henry retorted, every word threatening Henry into swallowing.

Valiant drew even closer. "If everyone jumped off a bridge young man, would you?" he asked with a solemn tone.

Mulling Valiant's question in his head, Henry quickly nodded with a "Probably".

Part of Valiant doubted that would work anyway but it allowed him the chance to get into grabbing distance of the troubled Henry. If things were going to get bad, Valiant may have to strangle and force a finger down Henry's throat, a prospect Valiant was not looking forward to for many reasons.

"Well" Valiant pondered, flying this negotiation by the seat of his pants, "look, if you were happy every day of your life, at every hour and minute there in...you wouldn't be human, you'd be a game show host!"

Henry looked down and for a moment, Valiant felt the urge to jump him before the blond pulled up his hand and spat the pills out onto it..

Valiant reached over to the dropped bottle and offered it to Henry, who poured the saliva coated pills back in the bottle before closing the cap on top of them.

With a breath through his nose, Henry started to smile again, buds of built up water billowing from his tear ducts, "Thank you for coming after me." He cried before lunging over to hug Valiant, catching the student in blue off guard.

Rocking back from the sudden force, Valiant slowly pulled himself straight before gently hugging the quarterback in return. Patting his back, he responds, "Y-You're welcome."

The thought of relapse and the pang of guilt inside him causes Valiant to continue, "L-Listen, i-if you ever need to talk about this again, let me know." he explains before adding jokingly, "I mean I can't promise a shining song or TV crew, but I can at least make sure we talk privately...ok?"

Valiant feels Henry McNamara's head bob up and down on his shoulder before the two pulled away, Henry's eyes still raw from tears. "Thank you Valiant" he smiles.

The two released each other as Henry cleared his face with water. From the mirror, Valiant noticed glints of two familiar looking reflections. One of the ghost Henry Chandler who was floating over Valiant's shoulder before quickly vanishing. The other, J.D. peaking through the busted doorway before quickly retracting back. "Are you going to be ok by yourself Henry?" Valiant inquired.

Henry raised his head from the sink and exhaled, "Yeah, I won't be needing any of my pills right now, that's for sure."

"Great, remember my offer and I'll see you later." Valiant waved before quickly rushing to the doorway, only looking back to ensure Henry was not in fact just bluffing...and perhaps to see the state he had just left the door in. God, he hoped nobody would snitch on him for that. Though it wouldn't be the worst crime he'd have done this senior year alone, he knew his parents would kill him if he came back with bills.

Speaking of which, Valiant had a feeling J.D. would have wanted to talk with him. A part of him didn't want to see her, he had some rather big fish to fry at this moment between the best friend he's just stabbed through the heart more times the Julius Caesar was by his senate and was now responsible for Henry McNamara not relapsing into another suicide attempt. That being said, the sooner J.D. got her choice words out of the way about his outburst, the better he speculated.

Valiant finally met with J.D. after school, J.D. pulling Valiant away from the school bus to go for a walk to her house. An initial pregnant silence is broken by J.D. with her prolonged claps.

"That, was a stroke of genius." She congratulated.

"What was?" Valiant asked with a brow raised as the pair pulled towards the Deans' residence front door.

"Your confession at the cafeteria?" She specified, "You really had me worried for a minute there and yet, you pulled it off."

She opened the door for her boyfriend before entering in behind him with a chuckle, "What better place to hide than in plain sight?"

Valiant sighed, "J.D., I was not trying to hide."

J.D. then glared with a response, "Then why did you have to mess with McNamara? The world would have been grateful over one less Henry." she spat coldly, as if mentally disqualifying her own boyfriend from ever being one of them. Guess that's the benefit of a unique forename.

"He's my friend." Valiant explained with an awkward peep of laughter from his voice. Was this going where he thought it was? Valiant prayed not.

J.D. scoffed, "Sure ok then. If he's such a good friend of yours, then what about Henry Duke? He pushed McNamara to suicide after all, nothing ever changes unless we-"

"No. Not this again, we promised to get out of this "change" business!" Valiant shouted over her. It seemed God did not answer his prayer, or if he did, his answer was a cruel one.

The pair started the argue over each other, J.D. with rationalisations that Henry Duke has his death coming for all the people he's ruined the lives of, Valiant included. Meanwhile, Valiant kept insisting that J.D. promised him that she would give up this drive to change the world through murder and just live like a normal seventeen year old.

The squabble dies as Bertha walks into the house on the teenagers. She jabs, "Gee ma, ever hear of knocking? I was busy playing grab ass with my boyfriend."

J.D. turns away before delivering a jab of her own, "young lady, you know the rules. When company's over, the door stays open."

Now was likely not the time to mention Valiant's first time in the Deans' household, if Valiant was ever in the mood to. Certainly not now.

Bertha started to espouse the tale of her employment, "So the judge, God bless her, told those Boswell Sister groupies to slurp shit and die!" she proudly announced.

Valiant was not that interested in the conversation although as an intermission from his heated argument, it could have been a school debate about making skirts compulsory for all students and he'd still be pleased with it ongoing.

"You should have seen the fireworks." Bertha said with a swollen chest full of pride as she rose a video cassette in her hand, "Got the whole thing on video. Upper floors loaded with thermals and set it all off with a Norwegian in the boiler room." Bertha then mimed a huge explosion before walking past the two towards the stairs, "Be right back, I'm going to need something more absorbent for this one." she stated.

Before Valiant could fully dwell on such a statement, he recoiled to upright state at the ringing of a firearm. Looking round, he sees the offending handgun in J.D.'s straight up-right raised arm, faint smoke from its barrel and a smirk of glee on J.D.'s face.

Just as Valiant wanted to chew her out, Bertha shouted from upstairs, "God Dammit! I said no firearms in the house!"

Holstering her gun, J.D. turned to Valiant only to see him in shocked fury, as if J.D. had just mentioned the word "valuable" to him. "Why are you carrying a gun?" Valiant panicked, the realisation she was likely armed throughout the entire school day or worse, armed herself at her locker, blasting through his head as fast as the fired bullet that continued to ring however faintly.

J.D. snorts with a shrug, finger off the trigger, "Pisses my mom off, it's funny."

"It's not funny." Valiant corrected. "None of this is funny, WHY ARE YOU CARRYING A GUN? You promised me that this change shit was over."

J.D. responded without any change in her tone, "Hey, it's a dangerous world out there. There's been countless school shootings."

Valiant impulsively retorted, "Because of you and people like you." With those words, Valiant's mind was cleared. He was done, and he was leaving. "Don't call me. Don't even talk to me."

Valiant reached for the front door and opened it before J.D. spoke up in confused frustration, "Valiant?"

Valiant turned around to her and started to verbally strip her down, "You have no comprehension of right or wrong. We're over. I can't keep doing this, so I won't." he stepped out the house and closed the door behind him.

J.D. was quick to reach for the door and pull it back open and plead to him, "Come on, come back."

"Over." Valiant called back without even slowing down or looking back to her.

"Wh-no...B-But I love you!" She loudly declared from her front door, throwing out her hands in front of her. When Valiant turned however, all he saw was her revolver waving high in the air. J.D. quickly tried holstering it again but-

"Goodbye J.D."

With his heart cracked, Valiant would never darken that door again as he continued his way home. Somewhere deep down, J.D. knew that.

"Fuck!" She swore.

Her own heart started to split apart. That cute boy who actually seemed to like her. Love her. Cared about her. Gone.

"Fuck!"

And it was all her fault!

Her fault.

Her fault?

…

No.

Not hers.

But she knew the guilty party.


	10. Go, Go, Kindergarten Boy

The next school day, J.D. was completing her walk to school much later than usual when she started hearing some acoustic instrumentation out on the football field. An irritating presence for her in particular, as the loud chanting really hampered her reading time between classes.

[Chanters] _Hey yo Westerburg,_

 _Tell me what's that sound?_

 _Here comes Westerburg,_

 _Coming to put you in the ground._

 _Go go Westerburg,_

 _Give a great big yell,_

 _Westerburg gonna knock you out,_

 _And send you straight to Hell!_

Fortunately for J.D., she didn't have much interest in reading anyway. In fact, she never brought herself a copy of Moby Dick she was re-reading. She decided to take the punishment for being late to leave the book with Valiant's parents.

She was relieved to find that Valiant never talked about him dumping her, his father seemed all too comforting towards J.D., reassuring her that they would talk to Valiant about what she discussed with him, making extra sure to show Valiant 'his' copy of Moby Dick.

It wasn't entirely lying J.D. persisted to herself, after all, she would have given him anything he wanted if he didn't just pull her heart out. Oh yeah, she was vindictive. Her gloved hands were to cover her wounds again. Her tears of last night's heartbreak helped add to her act of worry before Valiant's father and her dark clouds wishing change onto her treacherous boyfriend had parted for a more productive bolt of lightning.

Making her way into school, she caught a glance of the incoming Henry Duke. She smiled, her first step was about to commence. For any girl who was just seventeen, this plan would no doubt be a plan of revenge by getting intimate with a boy her ex detested as his own social life fell apart. Looking down at her prepared clipboard and papers however, J.D. knew, she wasn't just seventeen. Valiant left because of that.

She leaned against the lockers to await Henry Duke's passing. As the unsuspecting yearbook committee head past by, J.D. quoted, "I now know thee, thou clear spirit."

Henry Duke paused and turned towards the trench coat clad girl and added, finger wagging in the air as if fishing the answer from the ether, "That's, that's from Moby Dick."

J.D. lit up as she turned her head towards Henry Duke, head still kept low to hide her eyes. She may have recovered from its puffiness of tears, but she still wouldn't dare show such a weakness to him, screw his sympathy!

J.D. responded, "I appreciate a well read man." Feigning a pleasing smile to the red tie adorned student body overlord before presenting her clipboard with a small envelope trapped under the metal clip alongside the papers.

Henry Duke made the letter a priority as he pointed, "What's in the letter?".

J.D. shrugged, "Something you really wanna see."

Unperturbed by the girl's vagueness, Henry Duke slipped the letter free and turned his back on J.D. to open it and read. J.D. watched the side profile of the green jacketed student as his face turned pale, "Oh shit".

"Juuuuust a friendly reminder of your friendship with Martin Dunnstock back when you were, oh, six years old." J.D. clarified with a leisurely pace back around to Henry Duke.

"Where did you get these pictures?" Henry Duke interrogated, leaning down over the shorter student as he held out the picture copies of little Henry Duke and Martin playing with sandcastles. "Did Valiant give them to you?" He deducted, this had to be revenge for his 'Valiant groped two girls at once' stunt he realised, having little care to J.D.'s lacking response to his questions.

Henry duke tucked the photos back into the letter and gripped it tight, "So what's the goal here?" he asked, "You want to set me up as some horn dog that goes after other guys' girls? Or is this just straight up blackmail?" The asking of his last question coinciding with J.D.'s smile turned Henry Duke cold, she was actually blackmailing him! "Then what is it want? Money?"

"Nope, a favour." J.D. explained, walking closer to Henry Duke just as Martin Dunnstock walked behind her to his locker.

"Forget it." Henry Duke dismissed.

"Ok then, just so you know, my favourite was the picture of you, Martin and Rae in the bathtub." J.D. explained, her statement chilling Martin to freeze in place as he listened in his locker door obscuring his face from the chatting teens.

Henry Duke looked down at the letter and scoffed, "These photos are all ancient history. No one cares about something that long gone." Before tossing the envelope at the girl's forehead and starting to walk away with the parting words of "And nobody certainly cares for Martin Dumptruck!"

J.D. sighed in somewhat frustration. She should have figured that the direct approach wasn't going to work. She would need to be a touch more subtle then.

Before bending down to collect the envelope however, J.D. catches the gawking Martin in the corner of her eye and decides to feign wiping off some dirt on her knees and walks off, purposefully leaving the torn open envelope with its nostalgic memories pouring out of it.

Martin waited for J.D. to clear way before he quickly swept the pictures and the envelope up himself. Pulling out the envelope, he thumbed through them, memories flooding back. When he first met Henry Duke. That school picnic where Valiant Sawyer just got cut from frame because he started racing Betty Finn, and lost. That proud collaborative crayon drawing he and Henry Duke made of Duke's pet cat at the time, and of course, that bath time with Martin, Henry and Rae Sweeney.

Martin's glasses started to get smudged with tears dropping onto them. His choked back tears forced him into hiccups as he held the photos to his breast and walked back to his locker.

[Martin] _There's a girl I met long ago it occur,_

 _She was sweet, she said that I was smart._

 _She enjoyed her sports and people liked her,_

 _And at nap time once we shared a mat._

 _I didn't sleep, I sat and watched her breathing,_

 _Watched her dream for nearly half an hour._

 _Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh,_

 _Then she woke up._

Martin started to write down a note and signed it before placing his physical memories into the locker. He gently shut the locker door and walked on, away from the school entirely, enraptured in the memories that started to swell within him.

 _She pulled a scab off one time during kick ball,_

 _Kissed me quick then pressed it in my hand._

 _I took that scab and put it in a locket,_

 _All year long I wore it near my heart._

 _She didn't care if I was macho or dashing,_

 _And she was mine until we hit first grade._

 _Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh,_

 _Then she woke up._

Martin reached a stone bridge over a flowing river across from the school. He paused and looked out over the flowing river and saw it open a window. A window into his very dreams.

 _Last night I dreamed a horse with wings,_

 _Flew me into her home room._

 _On its back there I sat,_

 _And she took up my arms._

 _So we sailed above the gym,_

 _Across the faculty parking lot._

 _My kindergarten girlfriend and I!_

 _And a horse with wings._

The dream window fades away as Martin slumps his head onto the hard stone of the bridge. Tears fully drown his cheeks as the grim reality of the present day sits in. His love forever unrequited. His friends and bullies moulding into the same mocking visage.

 _Now we're all grown up and we know better,_

 _Now we recognize the way things are._

 _Certain girls are just for kindergarten,_

 _Certain boys are meant to be alone._

Martin slowly raises his head. He looks down at his letter and tries to fold it into his jumper so it cannot be thrown loose by what comes next. He then looks over to the school before looking back over the river with grit.

 _But I believe any dream worth having,_

 _Is a dream that should not have to end._

 _So I'll build a dream that I can live in,_

 _And this time I'm never waking up!_

Martin quickly climbs atop the stone railing of the bridge and from the top he raises one hand, the other tightly clutching his final words to this uncaring world.

 _And we'll soar above the trees,_

 _Over cars and croquet lawns._

 _Past the church and the lake,_

 _And the try-county mall._

 _We will fly through the dawn,_

 _To a new kindergarten!_

Martin then pulls out a photo from his pocket, the last one from J.D.'s envelope. Two pre-schoolers hugged each other, while holding small Valentine's day cards from each other. One is a girl who would grow up to be a top pyramid cheerleader named Rae Sweeney, the other a boy the world will only remember for throwing himself off a bridge, Martin Dunnstock. Martin holds the photograph out with the hopes to seeing her again. Perhaps in death, they could actually be together, maybe Heaven will let him the small mercy of seeing her smile to him again.

 _Where nap time is centuries long,_

 _Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh,_

 _Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh,_

 _Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh,_

 _Ooh ooh._

Martin then drops the photograph into the river and releases himself towards the river after it. Goodbye Westerburg High, Good day, Rae Sweeney.

Martin's absence from lessons was slow to be reported, many students left school before anyone even knew about Martin's absence, let alone his attempted suicide. Police reports did get cycled round the student rumour mill, yet one person was not there to hear it.

"Think you can beat that Henry?" Valiant challenged at the croquet lawn just off of Henry McNamara's house. The school day was honestly uneventful for Valiant, he had done his studies, submitted passable homework and between those times was checking up on Henry McNamara.

"Pff, as if I would let you hold a high score." McNamara scoffed before sizing up his shot. The two had been sticking together more so than even when Valiant was a proper Henry. Their companionship was a boon to both of them, Henry had an honest non-judgemental peer to confide his worries and suicide spurring issues with.

And meanwhile, Valiant felt more like the normal seventeen year old he had been begging to be. Sure, croquet was not his cup of tea, but Henry's insistence to rebuild a sense of normality was a mutually applauded idea. Their friendship did however, have a snag.

"Hey guys." Henry Duke called over to them as he jogged over to the croquet green, Henry McNamara pulling back his mallet with a judging look at the green clad Henry, "I missed you after school."

"Yeah, we were avoiding you." Valiant explained. This was a less mutual benefit. Valiant wanted to help both Henrys out but he knew Henry McNamara wanted no part with Henry Duke. Trying to juggling two conflicting friends was a skill Valiant knew he was no good in, whether it was the Henrys vs Martin, the Henrys vs J.D., Martin vs J.D. and now one of the Henrys versus the other Henry.

"What you did to me hurt Henry." Henry McNamara pointed out, keeping a harsh glare on Henry Duke.

Henry Duke slumped subtly, he should apologise. Out here, no one from school would judge right? Why couldn't he do it? Three words Henry, three fucking words! You know what those words are, you feel the guilt, free yourself and just say:

"Well fine then." Henry Duke he straightened out, completely deflecting the subject he grabbed the clipboard tucked under his arm. "We'll skip the foreplay then, just sign this."

Valiant took the clipboard and held it towards him and Henry McNamara so they could read, "So what's this about?" he enquired.

"It's a petition. To have MTV throw a spring break blowout in Westerburg high in order to raise suicide awareness." Henry Duke smiled.

More of this Valiant could feel himself groan, why am I cursed to hear about suicide every day? Was this a punishment for breaking into a girl's room and getting it on with her? This divine intervention is as prudish as they are exaggerated.

"I managed to get the entire school to sign it." Henry Duke beamed, "In fact, I'll be making an inspirational speech about suicide prevention to our fellow classmates."

Henry McNamara looked up to Valiant in curiosity. Though he didn't sign, Valiant knew Henry didn't have to. The star quarterback was no doubt going to be there as well as at the pep rally for the football team's coordinated "Haka", an idea of McNamara's invention inspired by a rugby ball team from New Zealand that was touring, albeit one that seemed to amount to being a glorified cheerleader routine for the guys.

Regardless, Valiant was too turned off by more spectacle in the wake of the suicides, "I'll pass." he said before passing the clipboard straight back to Henry Duke.

"Why now are you pulling on my dick?" Henry Duke said with inflections way too similar to Henry Chandler to be coincidence. "This was your stupid girlfriend's idea after all, I thought you would be all over it."

Ex-girlfriend. Wait, not what Valiant should be thing about right now, "J.D. suggested this?" Valiant asked.

"Yup, printed the sheets and everything." Henry Duke answered, flicking through the completely signed pages on the clipboard has he done so. Henry McNamara titled his head in confusion as he saw his friend turn ghostly pale.

"Look" Valiant started, "I don't know what J.D. is up to, but take it from me when I say if you knew what was good for you, you'd burn those sheets!"

Henry Duke scoffed, "No chance am I going to throw this golden moment away. I'll just fake both your signatures, wouldn't be the first I'm afraid, Martin Dumptruck pipped you to that post." as he started to walk away from them with a dismissive wave.

Valiant sat his mallet down and sprinted to cut Henry Duke off, "Waitwaitwait a minute now, what do you mean you faked Martin's signature?" he drilled.

"He wasn't exactly in any shape to sign anything after what he did." Henry Duke smirked.

A cold familiar air started to haunt Valiant's spine as Henry McNamara started to catch up to their conversation, "What happened?" Henry McNamara asked with confusion.

"Martin Dumptruck took a belly flop of the Old Mill Bridge holding a suicide note." Henry Duke shrugged.

Valiant gasped in terror, "Oh my God! He isn't d-"

"Just some broken bones." Henry Duke reassured quickly before he started to make his off the McNamaras' residence. "Just another geek trying to imitate the popular kids and failing miserably." he signed off.

Valiant paused, feeling three ghosts spiral around him. "He-henry, I'm going to go home." he groaned, his head feeling very off as the world almost seem to melt around him.

"Are you sure you'll be-" an echo of Henry McNamara rang out before Valiant quickly stumbled into the darkness with nothing more than a reassuring thumb up to Henry McNamara as he walked on.

The ghosts then floated into Valiant's line of sight and danced around him as he stumbled through the abyss.

[Henry Chandler, Rae Sweeney and Kate Kelly] _Yo boy, keep it together,_

 _I knew you would come far._

 _Now you're truly a Henry,_

 _You're so gangsta you see!_

Valiant collapses to his knees as the darkness faintly parts to see the side of a hospital bed in from of him. He looks around, confused as to what was happening? Was he blacking out? Were the ghosts doing this? How did he get in a hospital?

He looked to the face of the bed's occupant and a lump pulled down on his stomach. It was Martin. Valiant reached over to Martin's espoused hand and grabbed it with both of his own.

Head pressed onto the bed as he cried, "Martin, I'm so sorry."

The darkness started to swallow the world again as the ghosts pull his head up to look deep into Martin's face Valiant loses sight of his surroundings to the dark.

 _Yo boy, don't be so shy,_

 _He's not looking so well._

All three ghosts then draw from the air a red neck-tie as it drops around Valiant's neck.

 _Still, you've earn that red neck tie,_

 _Come join Henry in Hell!_

The ghosts pull the tie tight around Valiant's neck and pull him up, the force of the choke feels too real to Valiant as he desperately claws the tie loose.

The ghosts throw Valiant up onto his feet into a stumble, leading him back into the light of his home as he walks through the door with his parents looking straight at him with worry.

"Where have you been?" Valiant's mom snapped.

"We've been worried sick about you slugger. Your friend J.D. stopped by this morning, she told us everything." Valiant's dad explained.

Valiant grabbed his neck to loosen the vanished neck tie as he asks groggily, "Everything?"

"Your depression?" Valiant's mom interrogates, "Your thoughts of suicide?"

Valiant's dad walks up to him and hands him a copy of Moby Dick, "She even showed us your copy of Moby Dick."

Valiant held the book open to a page filled with his own handwriting talking about the white whale of popularity. The friends he has casted aside to chase a delusion of normalcy and the haunting guilt of pushing Henry Chandler over the edge. D-Did he write this?

"She's got your handwriting down cold." Henry Chandler remarked over his left shoulder with a cocked up eyebrow. He's right, Valiant didn't write this. He hasn't had a copy of Moby Dick since his last copy got water-logged back in junior high. J.D. used his own graphology against him? Why?

"Please buddy. Talk to us!" Valiant's dad requested.

"No, you wouldn't understand!" Valiant refused.

"Try me!" Valiant's dad insisted with his hands on each of his son's shoulders. "I've experienced everything you're going through right now." The ghosts look over Valiant's dad's shoulders to sing to Valiant.

 _Guess who's right down the block?_

"Your problems seem like life and death!" Valiant's dad explained.

 _Guess who's climbing the stairs?_

"I promise, they're not." Valiant's dad continued.

 _Guess who's picking the lock?_

Valiant closed the Moby Dick shut and reasoned with gritted teeth, "You don't know what my world looks like!"

The ghosts lean over Valiant's dad's outstretched arms to get right into Valiant's face.

 _Time's up! Go say your prayers!_

Valiant's eyes widen before he breaks his father's grip by shoving the book into his solar plexus and rushes in a desperate manner up the stairs, the ghosts tailing him as he moves frantically.

 _Valiant's running on, running on fumes now,_

 _Valiant's totally fried._

 _Valiant's gotta be trippin' on 'schrooms now,_

 _Thinking that he can hide._

 _Valiant's done for, there's no doubt now,_

 _Notify next of kin!_

Valiant slams his bedroom door open and rushes inside to look around for something to barricade his door. Shit! Why did I leave my croquet mallet at McNamara's he cursed to his brain.

 _Valiant's trying to keep her out now,_

 _Too late!_

Valiant looks over to the open window. His face soaked with horror and sweat as he sees J.D. casually sitting in his open window, most of her body inside the room itself.

"She got in!" The ghosts whisper before vanishing from Valiant, frozen before the sight of J.D.

"Knock! Knock!" she greets.


	11. Damaged Goods Wrapped Up

J.D. jumps down onto the floor of Valiant's bedroom and struts over to him, her loosely worn trench-coat dragging behind her like a wedding dress with her shoulders expoused. "Sorry for coming in through the window, dreadful etiquette, I know!" she apologised as she walked right up to Valiant.

Without a single skipped beat, Valiant shoved the girl right out of his room and slamming the door behind her with a commanding "Get out of my house!"

J.D. quickly threw her coat back over her shoulders and made for the door handle but she could not push the door open against the muscularly superior Valiant pressing his own shoulder against the door as he looked down at the twisting handle.

"Hiding in your room?" She ask with shock, "Come on honey, open the door!"

"Get out of my house or I'll scream and my parents will call the police." Valiant warned. Under normal circumstances, Valiant had no reason to believe that statement was anything short of a lie however thanks to J.D. setting Valiant up as suicidal, calling the emergency services on a boy attempting suicide seemed a lot more believable.

"All is forgiven baby." J.D. cooed, "Come on and get dressed, you are my date to the pep rally tonight!"

"Wait, why?" Valiant questioned, keeping his mass against the bedroom door.

"Oh well, our students signed a petition but wait until you see what they ACTUALLY signed!" J.D. giggled with a maniacal glee that sounded like a completely different person. J.D.s tone then started to grow cold.

[J.D.] _You chucked me out like I was trash,_

 _For that you should be dead-_

J.D. draws out her revolver and aims it at the door handle. Valiant heard the click of a gun and immediately shrunk his profile down while still trying to trap the front door.

J.D. pulls the gun back, finger off the trigger and taps the gun against her temple.

 _But! But! But!_

 _Then it hit me like a flash,_

' _What if high school went away instead?'._

 _Those ass holes are the key,_

 _They're keeping you away from me!_

 _They made you blind, messed up your mind,_

 _But I can set you free!_

Valiant was stunned to silent. Was she going to change the whole school? Because I dumped her? She's a monster. She's become a monster. Of my creation. Valiant's thoughts shorted themselves at the thought of somehow turning a girl into a murderer.

 _You left me and I fell apart,_

 _I punched the wall and cried-_

BAM! BAM! BAM!

J.D. punched against the door for each "BAM!" onomatopoeia she casted from her tongue. One punch going over Valiant's kidney.

 _Then I found you changed my heart and set loose all that truthful shit inside!_

 _And so I built a bomb,_

 _Tonight our school is Vietnam!_

 _Let's guarantee they'll never see their senior prom!_

Suddenly J.D.s tone changed to a tremble.

 _I was meant to be yours!_

 _We were meant to be one!_

 _Don't give up on me now!_

An icy cold "Ich Luge" bullet pierced Valiant's heart. She was so mewling and pitiful sounding, he wanted to swing the door open and hug her. Bring her back behind the curtains that would block out all the worlds evils and let them enjoy their love together.

 _Finish what we've begun!_

Valiant pulled his hand away. That J.D. is gone. You cannot bring her back Valiant, you can't save her he hammered into his mind, each ring of the hammer against the thought peg cranking out tears from his eyes.

 _I was meant to be yours!_

J.D.s tone swung back to her giddy maniac state.

 _So when the high school gym goes boom with everyone inside-_

PCHW! PCHW! PCHW!

 _In the rubble of their tomb,_

J.D. holsters her revolver for a parchment written suspiciously in Valiant's handwriting.

 _We'll plant this note explaining why they died!_

J.D. looks down and begins to recite her note.

[J.D. and students] "We, the students of Westerburg High,

Will die."

Valiant notices voices reciting J.D.'s note from inside his bedroom. He slowly turns with his back to the door and looks in horror.

Tens of hundreds of ghosts stood to attention in Valiant room with a cold glares. Wait, they are not real ghosts. One of them looks like Henry McNamara. They were visions.

Visions of the guilt he would feel in the future. No, no Valiant couldn't cope.

"Our burnt bodies may finally get through,

To you.

Your society churns out slaves and blanks,

No thanks.

Signed, the Students of Westerburg High,

Goodbye."

The ghosts all vanished besides the actual ghosts of Henry Chandler, Rae Sweeney and Kate Kelly, floating slightly up to Valiant's high bar.

You win, Valiant conceded. I will hang.

Valiant opened his jacket as he rushed over to his cluttered mess of clothes strewn around his bed.

J.D. pockets her completed recital notes and presses herself hard against the door, unaware of Valiant's absense.

 _We'll watch the smoke pour out the doors._

 _Bring marshmallows,_

 _We'll make s'mores!_

J.D. turned her back on the door and pushing against it, lowered herself to the ground while crossing her arms over herself.

Valiant starts tying together his clothes into a noose to be hanged off the high bar.

 _We can smile and cuddle while the fire roars!_

 _I was meant to be yours!_

 _We were meant to be one!_

 _I can't make this alone!_

 _Finish what we've begun!_

Valiant finally zipped his jacket back up with a clothing noose around his neck tied to the high bar while he stood on the foot of the bed.

J.D. pulled herself to her hands and knees as she looked to the door and pleaded.

 _You were meant to be mine!_

 _I am all that your need!_

 _You carved open my heart!_

 _Can't just leave me to bleed!_

Valiant stepped off and dropped down. The clothing noose sprang straight as Valiant fell limp.

J.D. slammed her clenched fists onto the door.

Valiant!

 _Open the-open the door, please,_

 _Valiant, open the door._

 _Valiant, can we not fight anymore please,_

 _Can we not fight anymore?_

The silence beyond the door struck panic to J.D. as she rose to her feet.

 _Valiant, sure, you're scared, I've been there,_

 _I can see you free!_

 _Valiant, don't make me come in there!_

 _I'm gonna count to three!_

One.

Two.

J.D.'s father waves out the window towards her.

Fuck it!

J.D. boots the unresisting door down and rushes in to the sight of her boyfriend hanged from the high bar, unmoving. "Oh my God!" she gasps, dropping down as she hugs the boy's ankles, "No! Valiant..."

 _Please, don't,_

 _Leave me alone._

 _You, were,_

 _All I could trust._

 _I, can't,_

 _Do this alone._

With tears soaking J.D.'s face all over again, she looks out of Valiant's bedroom window to see the lit up building of Westerburg High school. She lifts herself up and walks out towards it and out the window, calls out to the mocking visage:

 _Still, I,_

 _Will if I must!_

"Valiant?" Valiant's dad calls from down the stairs.

J.D. looks back in a panic before quickly jumping onto the vine mesh under Valiant's house can climbed down.

"'Made you a snack." Valiant's dad calls out again as he walks the upper floor of the house. He pauses as he spots the opened door of Valiant's room. "Valiant?" he asks worriedly before briskly entering the room and, upon seeing his son hanged from his high bar, screams.

Valiant's eyes jolt open as he hears his dad's scream and he quickly opens his jacket to the clothes wrapped around his waist, "Dad, dad! Relax! Calm down! See? See? I'm alive!"

Valiant's dad pants slowly as he tries to calm down, watching his son untie himself, "What kind of sick joke was that young man? That was not funny" he pants before his wife rushes into the room with a romance novel in hand.

"What's going on?" She enquires.

"Mom, dad, I am very sorry." Valiant started to apologise as he liberated himself from his noose and body support "prank".

"What for?" Valiant's mom asks as Valiant's dad continues to pant from the shocking sight.

"For being a horrible man and making a horrible monster." He concluded before climbing out his bedroom window.

"What?" Valiant's dad responded in confusion before thrusting himself to the window to call his son, "Wait, where are you going now?"

"Out" Valiant answered as soon as he touched the ground and readied himself for a long form sprint.

"When will you be back?" Valiant's mom hollered from over her husband's shoulder.

"Good question!" Valiant exclaimed before sprinting up to the school in pursuit of J.D.

Despite his racing heart and mind, Valiant's head had never felt clearer. He had to stop J.D. And as he reached the front entrance of the school, he reflected.

[Valiant] _I wanted someone strong who would protect me._

 _I let her anger fester and infect me._

 _Her solution is a lie,_

 _No one here deserves to die,_

 _Except for me and the monster I created._

 _Yeah!_

Valiant kicks the front doors wide open to an empty hallway. Cracking his knuckles, Valiant marched in towards the indoor gym hall.

 _Yeah!_

 _Heads up, J.D., I'm a dead boy walking!_

[All bar Valiant] _Hey yo, Westerburg!_

[Valiant] _Can't hide from me, I'm your dead boy walking!_

[All bar Valiant] _Hey yo, Westerburg!_

[Valiant] _And here's your final bell,_

Valiant raises his hand and snaps his fingers where, on cue, the school bell rings and before him, a specter of the smiling J.D. he loved from so long appears before him. He approaches to dance with her. The two engage.

 _It's one more dance and then farewell,_

With only a single spin together, Valiant throws the specter aside, the heartbroken girl vanishing into a puff of Valiant's imagination.

 _Cheek to cheek in Hell with a dead boy walking!_

Valiant enters the gym hall, instead of focusing on the cheering students or on Henry McNamara calling round his fellow football players for a 'haka' Valiant starts looking around for J.D.

[Henry McNamara] _Come on, Westerburg!_

 _Here we go, Here we go now!_

Just as Valiant crossed halfway the distance of the gym hall, Mr Fleming grabs him by the shoulder and spins him to face the bamboozled teacher.

"Valiant! Joslyn Dean told us you'd just committed suicide!" Mr Fleming exclaimed.

"Yeah, well, she's wrong about a lot of things." Valiant answered tersely.

"Oh and I threw together a lovely tribute, especially given the short notice." Mr Fleming sighed.

"Mr Fleming, what's under the gym?" Valiant asked.

"Boiler room."

"That's it!" Valiant surmised and walked onwards to the boiler room.

"Wait Valiant, what is going on?" Mr Fleming puzzled.

[Valiant] _Got no time to talk,_

 _I'm a dead boy walking!_

 _[Students] Hey yo, Westerburg!_

Valiant rushed out the gym and started to make his way deep into the boiler room down below as he heard the loud cheering of students in the gym fade as he descended deeper and deeper into the boiler room.

[Students] _Hey yo, Westerburg!_

 _Tell me what's that sound?_

 _Here comes Westerburg,_

 _Comin' to put you in the ground!_

 _Go go Westerburg,_

 _Give a great big yell!_

 _Westerburg will knock you out,_

 _And send you straight to hell!_

Deep in the boiler room, J.D. fiddles away with an explosive as its L.E.D. timer blinks red light into her face as she continues wiring. A voice calls up her attention.

"A Norwegian in the boiler room? Was that another one of your mother's lessons?" Valiant spat. Deep down, somewhere, there was still a small part that of him that loved this small bag of nuts, by Valiant had to press down and unrelentingly on it for now. If he wanted to survive.

J.D. looked up with her eyes kept primed to the explosive in her hands, "Funny, I could have sworn you gave me shit for not giving up the change business and yet, here you are, back from another forged suicide!" she spat back at him.

"Step away from the bomb!" He ordered.

J.D. chuckled, turning her head as she held up the explosive. "This little thing?" She asked, "Oh I'd hardly call this a bomb." She added before placing it back down and standing up to face Valiant, "No, that is just to set off the thermals upstairs." she rose her hands to indicate the wires leading up into the gym, "Those are bombs." she concluded coldly.

J.D. then started to walk towards Valiant, this time with a strong blood drive as she pulled out her revolver. "People are going to look at the ashes of Westerburg and say, 'there's a school that self-destructed not because society didn't care, but because that school was society'." She ranted, Valiant held his ground and watched her load a bullet into her revolver before pointing it up into Valiant's neck. "The only place Henrys and Martins can truly get along is in Heaven!" she screams.

Valiant catches a glance at her trigger finger. It's off the trigger. She's conflicted! Valiant had a chance:

[Valiant] _I wish your dad had been a little stronger._

 _I wish he stayed around a little longer._

J.D.'s eyes turn to surprise as she tries to step away, Valiant strides forward after each sentence to plead reason into her:

 _I wish your mom were good!_

 _I wish grown-ups understood!_

 _I wish we met before,_

 _They convinced you life is war!_

Valiant halted and raised out his hand.

 _I wish you'd come with me-_

His final appeal to the love of his life was cast. J.D. looked down at the hand and trembled slightly at the thought of being with him again. But as she raised out her open hand, she quickly placed it beneath her other hand holding the gun and pulled the hammer back.

"I wish I had more TNT!" she responded, pointing the gun to her boyfriend's head and wrapping her trigger finger over the trigger.

Valiant threw J.D.'s gun into the air with his left hand before turning his open palm into a fist and jabbing her in the throat. This quick action, forces J.D. to drop her gun to the ground as she recoils to hold her throat. Valiant reaches down to grab the gun only for J.D. to tackle the low target onto the ground and causing the gun to skid off away from both of them.

As Valiant and J.D. started to rush for the gun and enter a grappling contest to wrestle the gun free from the other, The students upstairs cheer.

[Students] _Hey yo, Westerburg!_

 _Tell me what's that sound?_

 _Here comes Westerburg,_

 _Comin' to put you in the ground!_

 _Go go Westerburg,_

 _Give a great big yell!_

 _Westerburg will knock you out,_

 _And send you straight to-_

BANG!

J.D. and Valiant lock eyes with each other as they realise the gun has fired. The two back away from each other and look at down to themselves.

In Valiant's hands, a smoking gun. He let his finger rest on the trigger again.

In J.D.'s hands, a bullet wound.

"Di-didn't your mommy ever tell you not to hit girls?" she wheezed before dropping down to the ground.

Without sparing a moment to dwell on his actions, Valiant dropped the gun and rushed over to the live bomb. He looked at the display and saw it counting down. Tearing off the bomb from the wires riding up the wall did not seem to do anything. With little recourse, Valiant had to get this bomb clear! He ran out the school.

The running to school and back out with this bomb had finally caught up with him at the start of the football field. Taking a knee over the top of this bomb, Valiant looks down at his notebook diary. With the threat of death looming closer every second and yet his body too shagged to move further, Valiant imagined his diary entry.

"Dear Diary,

The great irony about all of this, is that I never got to write a suicide note."

"How clever." A wounded J.D. remarks as she hobbles towards Valiant with her bullet wound. "Dragging the trigger bomb off to the football field so that nobody gets hurt...well, besides you."

Valiant wheezed, "I have to die. All I have brought to this world is heartbreak and death, this is my retribution."

J.D. snapped, "Not you!" she walked up to him and crouched down to him, "Me."

Valiant looked up and saw that J.D. was crying, her face was so wet from tears, "All I do is destroy, just like my mother. I never thought once, just once, maybe I should try creating something."

J.D. reached down to grab the bomb from Valiant and slowly pryed it out of his hands, "But you're different. You can do something with your life."

As J.D. started to walk away, Valiant straightened up and tugged her sleeve. "No, you can still change. Please, promise me." Valiant pleaded, tears swelling up in his eyes and flowing down like rivers, "Promise me you'll throw it and just run! Run away! You can still change and be an architect or something. If they find the bombs, I'll take the rap! Just promise me you'll survive."

J.D. wanted to cry even more. Here he has the chance to run away from the grim reaper and he still wanted to save her, he would bargain for her life yet not his own?

"Ok." J.D. lied.

[J.D.] _I am damaged,_

 _Far too damaged,_

[Valiant] _But you're not beyond repair!_

 _Let's stick around here,_

 _Make things better,_

 _Just throw that bomb out there._

J.D. nodded to him as she started to hold the bomb up as thought going for a football toss.

[J.D.] _Please stand back now._

Valiant steps back, legs still feeling weak from this entire experience.

 _Little further._

Valiant stepped back again, this time beyond grabbing range, just as J.D. wanted. She smiled and looked back and gave the bomb a little shake jokingly.

 _Don't know what this thing will do._

Just as she pulls her arm back to throw, quickly she tugs her arm back and sprints with the bomb tight to her chest. Valiant, realising he's been tricked again, tries to chase her over the grass.

 _Hope you'll miss me,_

 _Wish you'd kiss me._

 _Then you'd know I worship you._

Valiant collapsed onto the field, his legs could barely move from the burning sensation of exhaustion. J.D. turns towards him and calls out to him as she continues pacing away.

 _I'll trade my life for yours._

[Valiant] _Oh my God-_

Valiant desperately tries to crawl on his arms alone towards her.

[J.D.] _And once I disappear,_

[Valiant] _Wait, hold on-_

Valiant collapses to the ground, his arms stiffen as Valiant tries to pull himself back up to his feet.

[J.D.] _Clean up the mess down here._

[Valiant] _Not this way!_

Valiant tries to reach out to her from his pitiful stance by reaching out to here many yards away.

With a tear soaked smile, a bomb cradled in her arms like a child she would never have, J.D. chants out to Valiant.

[J.D.] _Our love is God._

 _Our love is God._

 _Our love is God._

 _Our love is God._

Sitting up to his knees, Valiant calls back to her the last words she'd ever hear.

[Valiant] _Say hi to God._

A golden flash pricks Valiant's eyes before the thunderous blast knocks the heartbroken Valiant down onto his back and out of consciousness.

From this ethereal state of unconsciousness, Valiant continues to lie on his back in an abyss of darkness. Henry Chandler walks over to him, appearing far more fleshed out than Valiant had grown accustomed to.

"I'm dead I take it." he pipes up to the standing Henry Chandler looking down on him.

"Nope, just unconscious. Really, you should consider that a miracle if it didn't mean you'd be out until the next day."

Valiant sighs, "Did-did J.D. li-"

"Don't kid yourself. You were out for a night and you were far out of range of that thing. You saw her still holding that bomb until the flash." Henry Chandler, "Sorry Valiant...but she's as good as dead."

Valiant drooped his head over to the side Henry Chandler was standing on, "You don't have to convince me to feel the cold justice of death any more, next chance I get, its gunshot to the head city!"

Henry Chandler quickly groans, "That's the exact opposite reason why I'm here!"

"Huh?"

"Look, Its true that I have been sort of pushing for you to do that. But when I saw you apologise to Henry Duke, especially after I told you to kill him out of impulse...I got it." Henry Chandler explained before sitting beside Valiant, "I realised the that could have been human error...then you got Kate and Rae killed."

"Yeah, sort of realised then J.D.'s understanding of revenge is a bit off." Valiant groaned, slowly trying to sit himself up to Henry Chandler's level.

"I basically coloured my impression of you as being an ass hole and planed my own revenge by tormenting your head. All that changed when you saved Henry McNamara. After that, I thought, I could channel myself into helping you finish her off, take her down in your stead...then she sacrificed herself for you and- well shit, here I am." Chandler confessed with a shrug.

Valiant pulled up his knees as he asked, "So, does this mean your ghost is going to stop haunting me."

"Well, that ghost was more your guilt made manifest than any real supernatural powers. Why else would I make a comparative between a snake and mongoose when you were arguing with Martin? The real Henry Chandler flunked comparatives remember?" Chandler asked.

Valiant nodded before groaning, "Oh shit, I am going to have to set a lot of things right when I wake back up."

"Yeah, Henry Duke and Martin Dunnstock's going to be a challenge. But hey, you have Henry McNamara on your side to help you. Plus, you got less weight in the form of me haunting you at every turn." Chandler reassured, patting Valiant on the back before standing up. "Well, I might as well fade from your mind, try to remember me not as an ass hole ghost-"

Valiant laid back and smirked, "But as an ass hole friend?"

Henry Chandler winked to Valiant, "Damn right. Good luck in the land of the living Valiant. Do right by Henry Duke for me...also." He turned and shouted to Valiant before floating out the abyss, "CORN NUTS!"

Valiant felt his eyes open to the sound of the school bell ringing. Morning, looks like Henry Chandler was right.

He sat up in aching pain to look over to the small blast crater where J.D. once stood. As selfish as it was, he still wished she got to heaven so she could look down on him to see how well he cleaned up, like she said she would.

At least let one of her promises be fulfilled God, thanks.

Valiant stood up and massaged his neck as he followed students into the school. Noticing some students repelling themselves away from him, Valiant figured he'd need a clean at some point. A deep clean. One that repairs jackets and knows god methods for washing dried gunpowder. Or whatever this black stuff was all over him.

Henry McNamara rushed up to Valiant and called to him in shock, "Valiant! Where have you been? The whole school has been told you were dead!" Despite the filthy state of Valiant, the bright yellow quarterback had no shame in dirtying himself in hugging Valiant.

Henry Duke follows behind him to make a quick jab at Valiant's expense, "Ugh, you look like hell."

Valiant pulls away from Henry McNamara and turns to Henry Duke, "I just got back" he responded before grabbing Henry Duke by the shoulder, "Listen, I get that this power has been all you've ever strived for, and Henry Chandler acted like a dick to you when he held it. But you don't need to walk that path, I want to help you live life like you were still friends with Henry McNamara and me. If you need a moment to talk privately, let me know, I'll try to give your first appointment priority on my busy schedule."

Henry Duke raised an eyebrow, "Th-thanks but, what busy schedule?"

"That's the second part." Valiant added before pulling Henry Duke towards him by his tie and kissing him and quickly untying the tie from his neck. "Until you can clear your woes, I'll take over."

Valiant started to walk further into the school, calling loudly out to the student populous as Henry Duke and Henry McNamara flank behind Valiant as he fixes his tie around his neck.

[Valiant] _Listen up kids,_

 _War is over,_

 _Brand new sheriff's come to town._

 _We are done with acting evil,_

 _Lay all your weapons down._

Valiant pushes open the doors to the cafeteria in search for friend. Spotting him, Valiant makes his walk over to the far end of the socially inferior kids' table.

 _We're all damaged, we're all frightened,_

 _We're all freaks but that's alright._

 _We'll endure it, we'll survive it,_

 _Martin are you free tonight?_

He stops in front of the scooter of the still moderately bandaged from injury Martin Dunnstock, who looks up to Valiant in surprise.

"Wh-what?" Martin asks.

"See, my date for the prep rally kinda blew-" Valiant started, cautiously rethinking his next sentence despite looking like "blew up" would be the answer. "-me off. So I was wonder if you were doing anything tonight we could, maybe, have a movie night. Pop some Jiffy Pop, rent a video. Preferably one with a happy ending." And no ghosts, but Valiant was not going to say that out loud.

Martin looked down, his thoughts mulling over over these hectic past few days as he opens his mouth and utters, "Are there any happy endings?"

 _I can't promise no more Henrys,_

No offense intended guys, Valiant thought to himself, quickly realising Henry McNamara and Henry Duke had been following him on his sheriff declaration rally up to this point.

 _High school may not ever end,_

 _Still I miss you,_

 _I'd be honored,_

 _If you'd let me be your friend!_

[Martin] _My friend!_

The pair start to lead the rally out the cafeteria, Valiant hitches a ride on Martin's scooter as they speed down the halls to round the students up, much to the chagrin of the lagging behind teachers.

[Valiant and Martin] _We can be seventeen, we can learn how to chill,_

 _If no one loves me now, some day somebody will._

With essentially the entire school behind them and the Gym hall populated once more, Valiant jumps off Martin's scooter and the two stop, Valiant coaxes the initially reluctant Henry McNamara to join them as the pair hold hands.

 _We can be seventeen, still time to make things right,_

 _One day we'll change the world, but let's kick back tonight._

With that declaration, the doors out to the fields fly open as all the students start pairing off with holding hands. Henry Duke intially tries to pull his hand away from a nerdy girl before rolling his eyes and offering it over to her. Henry McNamara, Valiant Sawyer and Martin Dunnstock lead the couples and such out of the school.

[Boys] _Let's go be seventeen, take off our coats and dance,_

[Girls] _You know, you know, you know, we can be beautiful._

[Boys] _Act like we're all still kids, cause this may be our final chance,_

 _Always be seventeen, celebrate you and I, maybe we won't grow old._

The teachers, who initially, hold back, decide to throw their hands up and watch them flood onto the football field singing.

Valiant leads them out until realising where he is, he chooses to halt, standing over the dark patch where his girlfriend once told of their love. With a tear in his eye, he sings with all the students and the distant teachers.

[All] _And maybe then we'll never die._

In his minds eye, Valiant sees Henry Chandler hold Rae Sweeney and Kate Kelly's hands and float down to join the students in song. He starts to wonder where J.D. is before a pair of arms reach up and hug the back of his neck. Looking down, J.D. smiles and shares a tear with her boyfriend.

 _We'll make it beautiful,_

 _We'll make it beautiful._

 _Beautiful._

 _Beautiful._

 _Beautiful._

 _Beautiful._

 _Beautiful._

 _Beautiful._

 _Beautiful._

 _Beautiful._

 _Beautiful._

For the rest of Valiant Sawyer's school year, he and his friends of Martin Dunnstock, Henry McNamara and Henry Duke enjoyed their lives with worries only a typical seventeen year old should. No murders to pose as suicides, no ghosts manifesting from your overactive, guilt driven mind and certainly no explosives rigged to blow up the school!

Of course that did leave plenty of make-overs, fake notes, cat fights, corn nuts, drunken sex, hangover cocktails, drunken attempts at threesomes, fake rumors, people coming out as gay, painful truths, singing, broken doors, croquet matches and more to carry them through their college years and beyond but, that's all for a much more talented writer than I to tell over a period of time more plentiful than my own.


End file.
